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NICHOLAS BALL, Proprietor, 0. S. MARDEN, Manager. 



THK "OCEAN VIEW" is the largest hotel upon 
the Island, and has accommodations for nearly 
six hundred guests. It is located upon a bluff over- 
looking the harbor, and commands magnificent views of 
land and ocean scenery. The drainage has the endorse- 
ment of medical experts. Gas and electric bells. Quiet 
parlors. 

©plerjaia Ixjusic flcill, wif:^ M^^eGtfFiceil ©fsae. 

Good Music ; master of ceremonies in attendance. Spa- 
cious Dining Halls and attentive service. Table strictly 
first-class. Pure drinking water. Fresh milk from the 
Island dairies. Hot sea baths at all hours. Good Livery 
Stable. Steam Laundry. House Physician. 

"Ocean View" and "Bluff" Cottages, thoroughly 
made, and delightfully located, near the hotel. 

Ocean View Cottage open June ii. Ocean View 
Hotel open June 25. Send for Illustrated Circular. 



Ilock Island, f. I. 



ILLUSTRATED: 



DEScmrTiv^E SisLbtch 



OUTLINE OF HISTORY. 



By EDWARD E. PETTEE, LL. B. 



JUL 23 1884/ 



BOSTON : 

Press of Deland & Barta, 

1S84. 

1^- 



COrVRIGHTED 
BY E. E. PETTEE, 

1884. 



\0 



GbPA 



EDWARD E PETTEE, 
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR AT LAW, 

(HERALD BUILDING, ROOM 10,) 
257 Washington Street, BOSTON 



Careful attention given to Commercial Litigation and Insolvency Matters, 

Depositions taken. Titles ex-mined. Special facilities for reporting 

standing of Business Houses. Correspondence solicited. 



iREFACE-. 



The object of this little volume is to furnish a 
cheap, comprehensive, and reliable handbook for the 
use of visitors, or those contemplating a visit to 
Block Island. 

Owing to the loss of the manuscript, just as ready 
for press, the matter has been entirely rewritten in 
a hurried manner during the past two weeks, while 
imperative professional duties were demanding at- 
tention. 

The writer trusts, however, that his work may still 
prove acceptable and fulfil the original design. 

EDWARD E. PETTEE. 
Boston, June i6, 1S84. 



Formation and Topography. 



As the traveller approaches Block Island, the whole 
situation is one of absorbing interest. The cool sea 
breezes produce a sense of exhilaration, while the land- 
scape that rises to view is one of singular novelty and 
beauty. 

Surrounded by heaving billows, the island springs 
up Minerva-like, complete, from the blue waters of 
the ocean, its rude and lofty bluffs on either hand, 
spread out between which, and over the long, smooth, 
crescent beach, are seen receding in graceful undula- 
tions, its billowy, emerald surface, its softly rounded 
hills and valleys, with occasional glimpses of some of 
the sparkling ponds that nestle in every dale, the 
great hotels in the foreground, and hundreds of farm- 
ers' and fishermen's cottages picturesquely dotting 
the whole. 

At some not very remote period. Block Island un- 
doubtedly formed the eastern extremity of Long Is- 
land, having been detached from Montauk. jiossibly 
by some convulsion of nature, but more likely by the 
combined action of wind and sea, which latter force 
has since, by gradual encroachment, jirincipally on 



8 BLOCK ISLAND. 

the Montauk side, widened its channel, until at pres- 
ent some thirteen miles of comparatively shoal water 
intervenes. 

As a basis for this presumption we take the fact 
that the geological structure of the two is peculiar 
and similar, while entirely unlike that of the adjacent 
mainland, and the estimate of the New York State 
Geologist that "at least one thousand tons of Mon- 
tauk Point is carried away by the sea on a daily aver- 
age," making an annual degradation of several acres^ 
and finally, Indian traditions indicating that the dis- 
tance between them was much less in early times. 

This theory may seem improbable to many who are 
unfamiliar with the ceaseless work of these great nat- 
ural forces in modifying coast contours, but it is cer- 
tain that much more marvellous changes than this 
have been wrought by the same agencies at other 
points within a period covered by authentic records. 

The exact position of Block Island is latitude 41'* 
8' North, longitude 71" ''^^'^ West. Its greatest length 
is about seven miles, and greatest breadth about four 
miles ; in form, pear-shaped, with the small end to the 
north. The surface is wonderfully diversified, and 
yet the greatest elevation attained is less than three 
hundred feet above sea level. 

The State Geologist informs us that the surface soil 
is entirely ot granitic origin. No rocks are found in 
place, and the numerous boulders of granite, of a por- 
phyritic structure, were undoubtedly transported from 
the mainland by the agency of ice. 



FORMATIOX AXD TOPOGRArHY. 




10 BLOCK ISLAND. 

The substratum on which the whole rests is a de- 
posit of tertiary blue clay, destitute of any remains of 
marine shells, and containing layers of white sand 
and imbedded masses of gravelly, bog-iron ore. 

On the Crescent Beach are quite extensive deposits 
of black crystals of magnetic iron ore, known com- 
monly as black sand, which before the invention of 
blotting paper was extensively used in sand-boxes. 
At the present time the privilege of its removal is in 
the hands of New York parties, who have erected a 
small building in which the sand containing the crys- 
tals commingled with the silicious matter is dried by 
artificial means, then separated by a magnetic engine 
driven by steam power, after which it is put up in bags 
and shipped to New York for foundry use. 

The soil of Block Island is generally fer-tile, being, 
perhaps, better than that of the mainland, and under 
judicious management, capable of producing large 
yields of agricultural products. 

Although a heavy growth of timber formerly cov- 
ered the island, of which we have indisputable proof, 
it had almost entirely disappeared as early as 1750, 
and was completely stripped during the Revolution- 
ary war, from which time until the present, it has 
remained wholly destitute of forest trees. 

Owing to the scarcity of wood for fuel, this question, 
at a very early date, was the subject of grave deliber- 
ations, as the ancient records bear witness ; and had 
it not been found that nature had amply provided for 
the exigencies of the case, in the numerous and 



FORMAT f ON AND TOPOCKAPI/V. 



I I 



W 



\ 



^X: 






;,rr'_P» 



Ik 



11 



'r 



1 2 BLOCK ISLAXD. 

almost inexhaustible deposits of peat, or " tug," as 
it is here called, the island must necessarily have 
been abandoned. 

There are three divisions of Block Island commonly 
recognized by its inhabitants, namely, the East 
Side, the West Side, and the Neck. The external 
features, the soil, and the people, of each section 
differ somewhat. The East Side has been the most 
favored by nature, and it is in this division that the 
enterprising inhabitants have concentrated their ef- 
forts in the various pursuits of island life. Here the 
National Harbor is situated, near which is the only 
considerable village, with its stores, post-office, cable 
office, life-saving station, hotels, and places of amuse- 
ment. 

The shores of this side have more variety, deeper 
indentations, boulders grouped in more pleasing 
manner, and that eminently essential feature of a 
pleasure resort, — a superb bathing beach, extending 
in the form of a beautiful crescent, nearly two miles, — 
a most graceful sweep of pure, clean sand, free from 
stones and seaweed, and having a gentle descent into 
the ocean. 

This rare and inviting Crescent Beach is one of 
nature's recent specimens of handiwork. Strange as 
it may seem, the place it now occupies, less than a 
hundred years ago, was covered with an almost un- 
broken line of low hills, or dunes, composed of fine 
sand, covered with coarse grass, and having a steep 
slope next the ocean. 



FOK.UATfON AND TOPOGRAPHY. 



•3 




14 BLOCK ISLAND. 

The memorable gale of September 23, 18 15, caused 
the first marked change in its aspect, when the tide 
having risen nearly twenty feet above high-water mark, 
the sea swept with frightful surges over this portion 
of the island, denuding the sand-hills and flooding 
the adjacent meadows, on a portion of which latter it 
left a deposit of sand several feet in depth. From that 
time, the hills, divested of their protecting vegetation 
were soon levelled by the fierce wintry winds. 

From the Harbor, which is described at length 
elsewhere, the land rises gradually to the south end 
of the island, where the bluffs are very high and 
precipitous, rising almost perpendicularly from one 
hundred to one hundred and seventy-five feet, several 
portions of which present a singular appearance, hav- 
ing been sculptured into all sorts of grotesque shapes 
by the furious storms that rally about them during 
the winter months. 

Scattered profusely on the shore, at the base of 
the bluffs, are huge blocks of granite, both rounded 
and angular, which serve as barriers to prevent fur- 
ther encroachments of the sea, by breaking the force 
of the vindictive surges. The loose stones soon 
become rounded by the continual friction caused by 
the regular action of the waves. Formerly, large 
cargoes of these were frequently taken away to fur- 
nish pavements for the streets of New York, but the 
inhabitants soon discovered the ruinous policy of 
allowing the removal of so important a defence 
against the inroads of the ocean. 



FORMATIOX AXD TOPOGA'ArJ/V. 



15 



Perhaps the most interesting portion of the bluffs 
to the tourist is the Mohegan Bhifif, so called from 
the fact that an invading party of Mohegan warriors 
were driven on to this point, penned up, and barbar- 
ously starved to death by the Manisseans. 

In his " Recollections of Curious Characters and 
Pleasant Places," Mr. Charles Lanman says : "These 




ROAD TO LIGHTHOUSE. 



great bulwarks are both imposing and beautiful, and 
it is in keeping with the fitness of things that the 
highest of them should be surmounted by a first-class 
modern lighthouse, which, though near the brow, 
cannot be seen from the beach below. Their forma- 
tion is of clay interspersed with boulders, and hence 
we find here a greater variety of colors than at Mt. 
Desert or the Isles of Shoals. The profiles of the 



i6 



FLOCK ISLAXD. 







MOHEGAN BLUFFS. 



FOKMATIOX AXD TOPOGRAPHY. \J 

cliffs are both graceful and fantastic, and when loom- 
ing against a glowing sky, or out of a bank of fog, 
they are imposing to the last degree ; and while you 
may recline upon a carpet of velvety grass at their 
summits, you have far below you the everlasting surf 
of the Atlantic, dashing wildly among the boulders 
or melting in peace upon the sandy shores. 

" But to enjoy this cliff scenery in its perfection 
you must look upon it under various aspects, — in a 
wild storm, when all the sounds of the shore are ab- 
sorbed in the dull roar of the sea coming from afar ; 
in a heavy fog, when the cliffs have a spectral look, 
and the scream of the gulls is mingled with the dash- 
ing of the unseen breakers ; at sunset, when a purple 
glow rests upon the peaceful sea and rolling hills ; 
at twilight, when the great fissures are gloomy, and 
remind you of the dens of despair ; and in the 
moonlight, when all the objects that you see, and all 
the sounds that you hear, tend to overwhelm you 
with amazement and awe." 

W. \\ Sheffield, Esq., a native of Block Island, i^or- 
trays the fascinations of this place in an impressive 
paragraph in his "Historical Sketch," as follows : — 

" Those rude gray clififs, which since their creation, 
or possibly since the morning stars first sang to- 
gether for joy, have presented their bared breasts in 
battle array to the sea and the storm, always had a 
mysterious attraction to me. 

" In my youth no neighboring dwelling or other in- 
trusion cnmo to interrupt the converse of the sur- 



1 8 BLOCK ISLAND. 

rounding scenes with the soul of the solitary visitor. 
There I saw in the swelling and recession of the 
mighty bosom of the sea, the respiration of God in 
nature ; there in the calm and lull of the elements, I 
heard ' the still, small voice ' fall upon my ears, mov- 
ing: from above all that was srood within me; and in 




SOUTHERN CLIFFS. 

(From Charles Laniiian's raintiiig.) 

the thunder and earthquake shock of the storm, I 
bave often stood almost paralyzed, under the spell- 
binding influence of the warning voice thus coming 
from that Power which had aroused the wrath of the 
forces of nature, and was breaking forth in the war 
of the elements. 

"There I have seen the strong ship, which had trav- 
ersed every zone, crushed by the power of the ocean 



FORMA TJOX AND TOPOGRAPHY. 



19 








20 BLOCK ISLAND. 

wave as if her sides were but wisps of straw, and been 
impressed with the utter powerlessness of man to 
contend with Him who holds the sea in the hollow of 
His hand, and with His will directs the storm." 

The configuration of the shore between the harbor 
and Mohegan Bluff is generally pleasing, preserving 
the outline of greatest resistance to the sea, — a suc- 
cession of curves. About midway is a little headland 
called Old Harbor Point, from whence a wild mass 
of loose rocks juts out into the Atlantic. This Point, 
and the Pebbly Beach, extending a short distance on 
its southerly side, and which is made up of myriads 
of smooth pebbles of every shape and hue, have al- 
ways been held in high esteem by visitors. If calm 
elsewhere, the waves break slightly at this point, and 
in active moods the ocean billows seem more majes- 
tic here; but when furious gales whip up the mighty 
seas that rush on in frightful surges, dashing with 
stupendous force against the rocks, driving the spray 
v/ildly up towards the murky sky, and lashing them- 
selves white with fury, while the huge boulders are 
hurled about like pebbles in the seething brine, then 
may one truly feel that he has witnessed a scene 
supremely grand. 

Adjacent to and partially sheltered by the Old 
Harbor Point was the Old Harbor Landing, once of 
considerable note, but long since abandoned, and 
chiefly remembered as the scene of a noted wreck 
which occurred years ago, and for the visitations of 
the legendary " Harbor Boys." 



FORMATIOX AXD TOPOGRAPHY. 21 




22 BLOCK ISLAND. 

Easterly from the Harbor, and only a few minutes'" 
walk therefrom by a sightly path along the top of the 
bluffs, which are here from forty to fifty feet abov^e 
the sea, is a little ravine which the gnawing waves 
gullied out during a severe storm that occurred some- 
seventy years ago. It extends only a short distance 
inland, and would be devoid of interest except for the 
springs which gushed forth thereafter. Their never- 
failing cool and crystal waters are said to possess val- 
uable medicinal qualities, and are at least ferruginous 
or chalybeate, as the little, unassuming rills proceed- 
ing gently to the sea have stained their pebbly beds 
a reddish hue. At several points along the east- 
ern shore, similar springs bubble forth, in one in- 
stance, more than fifty feet above the sea level. 
They undoubtedly proceed from island reservoirs and 
become impregnated from contact with the gravelly 
bog-iron ore deposits so common. 

An eminent living author, writing of the insignifi- 
cance of the fountains and streams on which the 
Greeks conferred such imperishable glory, says : — 

" Springs seem very trifling things to us, — us bar- 
barians of the North, who only know how to appreci- 
ate the colossal. Yet who can ever adequately de- 
scribe the ineffable beauty of the smallest spring, no 
matter whether it flows between two flowery banks 
under the mysterious shade of overhanging trees, or 
slowly trickles forth from a dark grotto, or jets up in 
glittering pearls from a pebbly bed, dancing the 
grains of sand on its tremulous drops." 



FORMATIOy AND TOPOGRAPHY. 23 

If we are unable to contemplate a spring- without 
sonic deo^ree of poetic emotion, how much more vivid 
must this sentiment have been among our ancestors, 
who lived in the \ery bosom of nature ! 

The shores of the west side are not so diversified 
as those just described ; the bluffs are less pictur- 
esque, more gravelly, and have fewer boulders, distrib- 
uted in less pleasing groups ; there is no long 
stretch of smooth, sandy beach, and the regularity of 
the outline is wearisome to the eye. 

Off the southwest portion lies Black Rock, sunken 
beneath the surface of the ocean, only discoverable 
at low tide, and notorious in wrecking annals. 

Near this point the bluffs, after having maintained 
their precipitous character for some four miles along 
the southern shore, bend around towards the north, 
and begin to diminish in height and abruptness. 

Dickens Point, the most westerly portion of the 
island, has a very slight elevation, and is of little 
interest to the tourist. It is diametrically opposite 
Old Harbor Point, between which two the island 
attains its greatest breadth, the distance being about 
four miles. 

Between here and Grace's Point, a slight and un- 
important projection about two miles further north, 
are Coonimus and Dorries Coves, formerly of con- 
siderable importance, but at present only utilized by a 
few fishermen as a convenient place to draw their 
boats above the tide, and where they have built a few 
small fish-houses. Considerable interest, however. 



24 



BLOCK ISLAND. 




FORMATION AX D TOFOGRAPJ/Y. 25 

attaches to Cooniniiis, as the seat of one of the Island 
W'reckint^ Companies and the location of one of the 
recently established United States Life Saving Sta- 
tions. 

The view from the bluffs on the southwest portion 
excels in some respects, for, in addition to the ocean 
view, with the countless sails dotting the sea and the 
Sound, Montauk Light, Long Island, and the Rhode 
Island coast are visible. 

They afford charming sites, for summer residences, 
and the foremost to display an appreciation of the 
attractiveness of this portion of the island is Mr. 
Thomas E. Tripler, of New York City, who has just 
completed the erection of an elaborate cottage, which 
for architectural beauty and completeness of apj^oint- 
ments, surpasses any structure on the island. 

This portion of the island is traversed by fairly 
good roads, a drive over which will be found very 
interesting, and bring to notice many minor features 
which it is impracticable to recount in detail. 

The northerly portion of the island is naturally sej")- 
arated from the main part by the Great Salt Pond, 
and is now commonly designated as the Neck, 
though for many years after the first settlers came, 
it was known as the Corn Neck, fi'om the large 
cjuantity of corn yielded by its productive soil, which 
was found under cultivation at the time of the con- 
quest of Manisses by Massachusetts. 

The extreme northern portion terminates in a 
sharp tongue of land known as Sandy Point, which 



26 BLOCK ISLAND. 

projects as a bar several miles from the island, and 
is the dread of mariners, " for here the swift currents 
that sweep both shores meet, and struggle for su- 
premacy, the bar in terrible combat being alternately 
laid bare, and swept by seas towering fifty feet above 
its surface." 

This submerged point was formerly an elevated 
peninsula called the Hummock, on which trees and 
shrubs grew, and a portion of which existed within 
the memory of the oldest inhabitants, who speak of it 
as being only accessible at low tide. 

Sandy Point is now occupied by a substantial stone 
lighthouse, the successor of three others which had 
been rendered unstable by the shifting sands during 
a period of thirty-eight years. 

The western portion of the Neck embraces the 
largest area of sandy region on the island, and its 
shores are the least interesting and most inaccessible 
of any point. 

The beach is narrow, stony, and scarcely relieved 
its entire length by a boulder or change in form, and 
is bordered by low sand-hills and shifting dunes. 

The eastern portion presents an entirely different 
aspect, — high, fertile lands divided into well-cultivated 
farms, broken coast line, with shores of various 
character, smooth, sandy beaches alternating with 
stretches of boulders distributed in wild disorder,, 
steep, sloping bluffs deeply serrated and from the 
summit of which may be obtained one of the most 
charming views the island affords. The prospect 



FORM.rnoiV AND roroGA'APHV. 27 

from the promontory, known as Clay Head, so con- 
spicuous to all approaching the harbor, embraces, in 
addition to the open sea and sheltered Sound, with 
their hundreds of flitting sails, and the neighboring 
Rhode Island coast sharply defined on the north, the 
harbor and village on the opposite side of the beauti- 
ful bay, with the hotels, stores, and dwellings, while 
spread out across the entire breadth of the island, in a 
grand panorama, are the cottages and farms. 

The internal features of the island are peculiar, one 
of the most striking of which is the profusion of ponds. 

Its authorized historian. Rev. S. T. Livermore, 
says : — " The exact number of these which do not 
become dry once in ten years has not been ascer- 
tained, but they may be estimated at over one hun- 
dred without exaggeration. . . . They vary in size 
from the duck pool to the Great Pond, which is said to 
cover one thousand acres. The smaller ones are so 
interspersed as to furnish every farmer with the ben- 
efits of from one to twenty ; and as springs are not 
abundant, and only one stream can approach to the 
dignity accorded to a small brook, these ponds are of 
\ery great convenience for watering animals." 

A frequent question asked by the tourist, who 
marvels at this abundant supply of fresh water is, 
Whence does it come .' There are good reasons for as- 
suming that not a single one of these ponds is sustained 
by springs, not that it is impossible, but simply highly 
improbable, from the geological structure of the island, 
that any springs issue forth from the bowels of the 



WW 



|lllilllili!ii 







FORMAT/OX AND TOrOGKAPJ/Y. 29 

earth at this point. Possibly a careful examination 
of the bottom in the depths of the Great Pond might 
reveal such, but it is unlikely ; and this great body of 
brackish water, which is comparatively an inland 
sea, is evidently supplied b}- the ocean, the narrow 
strip of sandy soil that confines it on either side 
operating exactly upon the principle of the well- 
known l^oullay filter. Other ponds in this section of 
the island are undoubtedly sustained in a similar 
manner. The formation of those ponds in the ele- 
vated hollows and deep little pockets, surrounded by 
steep hillocks, furnishes the solution of their origin 
and continuance. They all "have clay bottoms that 
hold water like caldrons," and are supplied by the 
rain-fall of the island, which is laid up in its strata 
precisely as in the hills of the mainland, the small 
size of the reservoirs being made up for by the fre- 
quent rains during a large part of the year, and in 
summer, protected from exhaustive evaporation by 
the humid atmosi^here which envelopes the island. 

The Great Pond, covering a thousand acres, is 
situated almost exactly in the geographical centre of 
the island, and nearly divides it from east to west. 
The strip of land separating it from the sea on the 
east side is known as the Imlian Head Xcck, from 
the circumstance of two Indian heads having been 
exposed on high poles set in the ancient Indian 
burial-grounds located on the little bluff that faces 
the pond. 

The narrow rim of laml forming its western shore 
derives its name of Harbor Neck from the location 



30 



BLOCK ISLAND. 




FORMATION AXD TOPOGRAPHY. 31 

of the old harbor just inside an inlet called the 
Breach, that formerly gave communication with 
Block Island Sound, as the water north and west of 
the island is designated by the United States Coast 
Survey. 

While the Breach was open, " the fishermen re- 
joiced in rich harvests of clams, oysters, and other 
shell-fish," but it was closed many years ago by a vio- 
lent storm, after which the water became too fresh for 
their habitation, and is now only tenanted by immense 
shoals of fish, affording excellent sport for those who 
are unable to withstand the effect of open sea-fishing. 

Near Sandy Point, and covering an area of about 
an hundred acres, is Saukum or Chagum Pond, also 
known as Sachem's Pond, from an Indian who stole a 
canoe here, and attempted to make his escape from 
bondage. ' It is very shoal, and its fresh water is 
supplied by filtration from the sea. 

The so-called Middle Pond, lying between the 
latter and the Great Pond, is fed in the same man- 
ner, and is called to mind as the place where the 
I'Lnglish vessels, during the War of 181 2. obtained 
water, and washed their clothing. 

Xear the south end of Crescent Beacli, and sejmr- 
ated Irom the ocean by a strip of land h\\\. a tew rods 
wide, is the Harbor Pond, so called from the fact 
that, previous to the great gale of 181 5, it communi- 
cated with the sea by an inlet called the Creek, and 
which was of suflRcient size and depth to allow small 
sloops to pass inside. At its outlet was situatetl the 



32 BLOCK ISLAND. 

Old Pier, portions of the piling being still visible at 
low tide. 

Immediately north of Harbor Pond is Trimm's 
Pond, in which is situated a small island called F'ort 
Island, which was formerly occupied by an Indian 
fortification, and where many bloody battles were 
fought by the Manisseans with the Mohegans and 
Pequots, and the scene of a notable encounter be- 
tween the natives and early settlers. 

About a mile south of the centre, on elevated land,, 
lies Fresh Pond or Bass Pond, as more commonly 
called at the present day. It is perhaps the most im- 
portant sheet of pure, fresh water on the island. It 
covers some thirty acres, is "attractive, clear, and sur- 
rounded with green shores, in view of pleasant resi- 
dences," and is resorted to by visitors for black bass 
and perch, some very fine specimens of which are an- 
nually caught. It is of easy access, and reached by 
way of the Centre, taking the road directly south. 

Southeast from the Bass Pond near the road leading 
from the harbor to the South Light, and about one 
hundred and fifteen feet above the sea, is Sand's Pond. 
This extraordinary sheet of pure, fresh water, sev- 
eral acres in extent, is but few feet in depth and lo- 
cated on some of the highest land on the island, yet it 
nc'/er diminishes much in volume, and would afford 
an abundant supply of the purest of water to the har- 
bor settlement. A movement in that direction was 
started last year, and a preliminary survey made for 
the location of an aqueduct, about a mile and a half 



FORMA TIO.V .LVD TOPOGRAPHY. 



33 



in length, wlicn it was found that sufficient head 
would be obtained to force the water to the upper 
floors of every building about the landini;' ; but the 
project was abandoned, owing to the refusal of the par- 
ties controlling the pond to disjjose of it. 

Halt'-way from the Harbor to the Centre, on the 
main road, is the old Mill Pond, — a dirty little affair, 
deserving mention, however, as the site of the mill 




THE OLD M I LL. 



where corn was first grountl and wool carded on the 
island, and also where the first death among the 
settlers is supposed to have occurred by the drowning 
of a little child. Remnants of an old mill are still 
standing, but at the present day the only means of 
grinding corn on the island is by the two picturestpic 
windmills. 



34 BLOCK ISLAND. 

West from the Landing, close by the main road 
that leads away from the harbor settlement, winding 
into the interior over the wavelike hills past the 
smaller hotels and quaint farm cottages, and a mile 
beyond the little cluster of buildings, consisting of the 
church, town-hall, two or three stores, and half a 
dozen dwellings, whose inhabitants assume a certain 
dignity from the distinction which the name of 
Centre imparts, rises Beacon Hill, the most elevated 
point on Block Island. It takes its name from a 
provision made by the early settlers for their protec- 
tion, by a blaze from this point warning the inhabi- 
tants of the approach of enemies. 

From its summit, nearly three hundred feet above 
the sea, one may obtain a magnificent prospect for 
miles on all sides. The culminating point is occu- 
pied by a little tower, affording" shelter and the use of 
a good glass for a nominal sum. " The landscape, 
viewed from' this eyry, is exceedingly novel and 
pleasing, comparable with no bit of scenery along the 
coast." Spread out beneath and encircled by a zone 
of glistening surf, lies the entire island, with its 
graceful contour delicately traced on the face of the 
great deep, " every suggestion of barrenness hidden 
by green pastures and smiling meadows," variegated 
by deeper colored patches under cultivation, and 
checked off into all sorts of odd designs by the sev- 
eral hundred miles of time-stained boulder walls. 
Sprinkled about in the most irregular manner are the 
farmhouses, " each surrounded with its cluster of 



FORMATIOX AND TOPOGRAPIIY. 35 

out-buildings, and communicating with tlie highway 
by a grassy lane, which often winds through the fields 
for a mile before reaching its destination." 

The softly turned hills, of ex'ery conceixable shape, 
sink gradually away to the sea, like some rich drapery, 
in every fold of which there "glimmers a pond, fed 
from some hidden source, and covered with fronds of 
pond lilies fragrant in their season with great 
creamy white blossoms." 

Looking out over the azure waters, we see on the 
north the whole Rhode Island ctiast line, and in 
clear weather some of the headlands of Massachusetts 
and Connecticut ; while on the west are Long Island 
and others at the entrance to the Sound, belonging 
to New \'ork, thus bringing to view from this little 
eminence portions of four States ; and after sunset 

'• From the dim headlands many a h'ghthouse gleams. — 
The street-lamps of the ocean.'* 

Whether looking down the dim, long \ista of the 
Soimd, or seaward over the all-embracing waters 
which sejx'irate, yet join, all countries and islands, 
we see hundreds of seeming chips of boats, with 
their white wings, traversing this generous "park 
of pleasure " and pathway for every people. 



Harbor. 



There is no natural harbor at Block Island, and 
the vital question of providing a suitable landing-place 
and an anchorage for their boats was among the earli- 
est that engaged the attention of the first settlers. 
Nothing satisfactory was accomplished for nearly 
twenty years, when in 1680, a harbor company having 
been organized, a channel was cut through the nar- 
row rim of sand on the west side of the Great Pond, 
connecting it with the sea. This inlet soon became 
so navigable " that vessels of seventy and eighty tons 
burthen actually sailed in the pond." Not proving a 
profitable enterprise, the company surrendered its. 
charter after fourteen years, when the town undertook 
to maintain it; but in 1705 it was abandoned alto- 
gether, the reason assigned being that " by the provi- 
dence of God a prodigious storm hath broken down 
the above said harbor and laid it waste " 

After this the inhabitants directed their efforts to 
the east side, at a point a quarter of a mile north of 
the government breakwater. Here, previous to 1815, 
a tide creek, about a dozen feet wide, and of sufficient 
depth to allow small sloops to pass through during 
high tide, connected the Harbor Pond with the ocean. 



HARin)R. 



37 




BLOCK ISLAND. 



About 1705, work was commenced at the outlet of the 
creek, and what seems to have been a very conveni- 
ent landing-place completed soon after, which was 
called the Pier. 




LANDING AND BOATS. 



After being repeatedly damaged by storms, and 
abandoned for years at a time, during which intervals 
various lottery and other schemes for raising funds to 
repair or build another were unsuccessful, it was 
finally totally demolished during the great gale of 
1815, at which time the creek was choked up by the 
sand and wash carried over the low lands by the 



HA KB OR. 



39 



enormous tidal wave. At low tide may still be seen 
remnants of the piling, against the sides of which 
planks were placed, backed up with boulders and 
small stones, and forming a sheltering point. 

Soon after this disastrous gale, the inhabitants be- 
gan the construction of a novel landing-place on the 
beach near the present harbor. "This was an indi- 
vidual enterprise, each man, as he chose, at low tide, 
setting his own spiles, where they are now seen," 
and having been continued for years by a large num- 
ber of people, it soon became, and continued for over 
fifty years, the principal harbor, the poles at one time 
having been more than a thousand in number. 

This primitive mode of landing was entirely inade- 
quate to the demands of the island, and at length 
some of the more progressive among the islanders 
began to agitate anew the question of a government 
harbor, which, as early as 1838, had been favorably 
considered by Congress, but no further action taken. 
After a lapse of over thirty years, and a determined 
struggle over the matter. Congress finally made a 
small appropriation in 1870, mainly through the ef- 
forts of Hon. Nicholas Ball, who secured petitions 
from the Chambers of Commerce in New York, Bos- 
ton, Philailelphia, and other cities, and represented 
the cause before the Senate Committee, as a citizen 
of Block Island. 

Work was commenced in October, 187*), ami com- 
jileted in November, 1S78. Congress, in the mean 
time, making the appropriations necessary to carry 



40 



BLOCK ISLAND. 




IIARIiOR. 41 

on the work, the total cost of which was $155,000, — 
less than half the sum estimated by the [government 
engineers. The main wall extends one thousand feet 
into the sea, at which point there is eighteen feet of 
water at low tide. Two hundred feet further out is a 
detached section, three hundred feet long, curving 
slightly inward, at the end of which, fifteen hundred 
feet from the shore, there is twenty-four feet of w^atcr. 
The original plan was to place still another detached 
section, of three hundred feet in length, a few hundred 
feet further north, and at nearly right angles with 
the main structure, affording shelter from the north 
winds ; but Congress failed to provide the necessary 
means. The breakwater is built of heavy blocks of 
granite, brought from the mainland, and heaped care- 
lesslv in the peculiar form of construction known as 
rip-rap, and contains about 93,000 tons of stone, 
forming an admirable protection against the waves of 
the Atlantic. 

Here is the home of the Block Island Hcet, and the 
location of the fish-houses incident thereto, adjacent 
to which are the stores, life-saving stations, telegraph 
office, and numerous dwellings, while " perched on 
the high grounds, back of the harbor, are the numer- 
ous hotels, which have s])rung u]i like mushrooms 
since the larger steamers have made the island a 
stopping jilace." 



Hotels. 



The establishing of a National Harbor at Block 
Island marks the beginning of a new era. Previous- 
ly to the construction of the breakwater, no decked 
vessel could land, by reason of which, many were 
deterred from visiting the island, not caring to sub- 
ject themselves to the inconvenience and risk of 
landing in a small boat through the surf, which was 
often attended with much difficulty, requiring great 
skill and courage on the part of the boatman. 

This picturesque little island, which a few years 
ago was comparatively unknown, is now, by reason 
of its natural charms, equable climate, and superior 
advantages afforded to the health and pleasure 
seeker, coupled with genuine Yankee enterprise in 
developing and bringing to public notice its excellent 
hotel accommodations, justly entitled to rank among 
the leading coast resorts of the States. 

Although a public house was opened as early as 
1842 on the site of the present Adrian House, and in 
1858, three public houses, with combined accommoda- 
tions for about one hundred guests, were in opera- 
tion, they were patronized by a limited few, who 
chiefly resorted there to enjoy the fishing, for which 
its waters have always been and still are famous. 



HOTELS. 



43 



As soon as the success of the harhor was assured, 
lari^e steamers visited the island, carryini;" hundreds 
of people, curious to see this hitherto almost inacces- 
sible place, which had become widely known through 
the vigorous efforts made in its behalf in Congress- 
and elsewhere. 

In 1873, Hon. Nicholas Ball, to whose enterprise 
antl persistency in the matter are chiefly due the 
acc|uircment oi the breakwater, erected the Ocean 
View Hotel, which from time to time, as the needs 
of the public have demanded, has been enlarged, 
until at present it exceeds in size, perhaps, any sum- 
mer hotel in the Xew l^Lngland States. It has a 
charming location, about five hundred feet from the 
.landing, on a high bluff overlooking the harbor and 
ocean, surrounded by spacious grounds, and right)}' 
named the Ocean View, as from three sides of the 
house may be had an unobstructed view of the briny 
deep, while from the gallery at the east end, which 
extends to within a few feet of the bluff's edge, one 
may look down on the brown, moss-covered boulders, 
which the frowning waters of the Atlantic dash over 
in fury, or sparkling waves. resi)lendent with sun- 
light, caressingly infold in peace. 

The Ocean \'iew is a well-ecjuipped antl well- 
conducted house, with good-sized. air\' rooms, not 
elaborate in their fittings, but comfortably furnished, 
lighted with gas, and communicating with the t)fficc 
by electric bells. The table compares favorably 
with other prominent hotels on the coast, the ser\ice 



44 



BLOCK ISLAND. 



is excellent, and the sanitary arrangements unsur- 
passed. It is 330 feet long and 170 feet deep, the 
main structure being three stories high, plain and 
substantial. About 250 feet west is situated the 




MOONLIGHT FROM OCEAN VIEW PIAZZA. 



Ocean View Cottage, which is connected with the 
hotel by a bridge which spans the little valley inter- 
vening. The combined length of bridge and piazzas 
is about 1,500 feet, and afford a delightful prome- 
nade. 



HOTELS. 45 

The first floor of the hotel is ahiiost entirely 
devoted to public rooms, the arrangement of which 
has been planned in a most judicious manner. En- 
tering near the middle of the ncrth front, the hand- 
somely furnished office is foun.d at the right, near the 
door, directly opposite which is the bazaar and post- 
office, connected with which by an archway is a 
little studio, presenting in itself a very attractive 
appearance, aside from the e.\c[uisite souvenirs and 
paintings so modestly exhibited. Opposite the main 
entrance is the immense dining-hall, having a pleas- 
ant outlook on the ocean, and a capacity for five 
hundred guests. Immediately in the rear are the 
spacious serving-rooms, kitchen, etc., while joining on 
the west is the servants' and children's dining-hall. 

At the e.vtreme west <tw<\ of the hotel is situated 
the Music Hall, especially designed for a place of 
amusement and very handsomely finished. Here the 
Schumann Orchestra has its home, giving a concert 
every week-day at noon, and furnishing music even- 
ings for dancing, when the hall is not in use for other 
entertainments. 

Connected with the Music Hall by a jjroad corri- 
dor e.Ktending to the east end of the hotel is the large 
and pleasant drawing-room, arranged so that those 
who wish may avoid the gayety and necessary noise 
at the opposite end. Ranging between the two are 
numerous small parlors, smoking and reading room, 
toilet-rooms, cloak-rooms, etc. 




L. 






HOTELS. 47 

In the rear of the hotel, sufficiently distant to 
avoid all disaj;"reeable features, are the livery stables, 
steam laundry, cottages for servants, and other out- 
buildings. 

The Ocean View has been under the management 
of Dr. O. S. Marden, of Boston, since 1877, to whose 
rare tact, superior business qualities, .and untiring 
application the Hotel and Island unquestionably t)we 
much. ( )f his success as manager, nothing attests 
stronger than the unjKecedented growtli of business 
and the character and permanence of the guests. 

Ne.xt approaching in size to the Ocean \^icw is the 
Spring House, so called from the springs alreadv tic- 
scribed, in the little ravine below the house, and 
from which it is supplied with water by means of a 
hydraulic ram. Its location is considered bv man\' 
the finest of any hotel on the island and certainly is a 
delightful spot. The house is situated about a quarter 
of a mile south of the Landing, over eighty feet 
above the sea, several hundred feet back from the 
bluffs, and is surrounded by a handsome lawn, from 
which the land falls away in a steep slope allowing an 
unobstructed view seaward. The Spring House has 
been in continuous operation since its first opening 
in 1S52. 'i'he present jiroprietor, Hon. ]>. 1^. Mit- 
chell, jnuchased it in 1S70, and soon after remodelled 
and enlarged it, and has since built quite an extensive 
annex, which is very pleasantly situated a few steps 
from the hotel. Both combined have a capacity for 
some two hundi-ed and hftv !J:uests. Most of the 



48 



BLOCK ISLAND. 



rooms have a very pleasant outlook, are well furnished, 
and in the newer portions of the house large and 
airy. The general arrangement of the public rooms, 
to which purpose an abundance of space has been 
devoted, is very con\enient. The furnishings are 
generally tasteful, and particularly so in the parlor of 
the annex. The house has always been well patron- 




MUSIC HALL, OCEAN VIEW HOTEL. 

ized and prosperous, and is under the immediate 
direction of the proprietor, with whom order and 
cleanliness is a strong point, antl whose personal 
attention and genial disposition arc remembered with 
pleasure. 

About half way between the Spring House and 
the Landing, and some hve hundred feet from the 
Ocean View Motel, is the Manisses, by which soft 
flowing Indian name Block Island was known pre- 



HOTELS. 



49 



vioiis to the present title, bestowed by the stolid 
Dutchman, Adrian Blok. This house, formerly 
known as the United States Hotel, was purchased 
in 1882 by Dr. O. S. Harden, of Boston, and the 
following winter thoroughly remodelled, and enlarged 
to double its former capacity, now having accommoda- 
tions for about two hundred jruests. 




THE MANISSES. 

It is very thoroughly constructed, and generally 
pronounced the best furnished house on the island. 
Though its equipments and provisions for the com- 
fort and convenience of its patrons are excellent, its 
size neither admits of nor demands some features 
only to be found or expected at a large house like 
the Ocean View. 



5 O BLO CK ISLAND. 

The rooms are for the most part good-sized, airy, 
and neatly furnished, and have electric bells com- 
municating with the office. The light and pleasant 
dining-hall is well appointed and has abundant capa- 
city for the full complement of guests. The table is 
maintained at a high standard, the service good 
throughout, and the sanitary arrangements all that 
could be desired. The handsomely furnished parlor 
is at the end opposite the office, with which it com- 
municates by a very tastefully decorated corridor. 
The dado is the work of Miss Carrie G. Bartlett, who 
has her studio at the Ocean View. 

The piazza on the north side of the house is par- 
ticularly pleasant, being overhung by a number of 
handsome poplars, the only tree that seems to 
flourish on the island, — and a rarity at that. — beyond 
which the hillside is terraced and ornamented with 
beds of flowers and has a little fountain in the centre. 

The Manisses is under the direction of Miss C. E. 
Brown, of Boston, a lady of sterling character, marked 
business ability, and large and successful exj^erience 
in catering to the public, who makes it her home 
in the summer, and a home for its patrons. 

Pleasantly situated on elevated ground, close by 
the main road leading across the island from the Har- 
bor and about three fourths of a mile from the Land- 
ing, is the Connecticut House, owned and conducted 
by Mr. M. M. Day, who formerly resided in Connec- 
ticut, hence its name. 

It is a good-sized house, having accommodations 
for eighty or more guests, and though some little 



52 BLOCK ISLAND. 

distance from the sea, is not without its advantages. 
It is a substantial, comfortably furnished, and well- 
kept, moderate-priced house, with large, pleasant 
rooms, from which a good outlook may be had, either 
seaward or inland. That the Connecticut House 
merits the liberal patronage it has received from 
those desiring a quiet, inexpensive, and homelike 
place, the writer is well convinced, after occasional 
contact with its guests, and an acquaintance with the 
proprietor for several years past. 

Not far from the Connecticut House, and reached 
by a private way, is the Hotel Neptune, situated on a 
little eminence, surrounded by green fields, and com- 
manding a pleasant prospect. The main structure 
was built two years ago, as supplemental to the 
dwelling of the genial proprietor, Rev. W. A. Durfee, 
who was formerly in charge of the Baptist Church, 
and is very favorably known to summer visitors. It 
is a fairly equipped, medium-priced house, and has 
comfortable accommodations for some seventy-five 
or more guests. 

About half way between the Connecticut House 
and the Landing, at the branching of the road to the 
beach, stands the Woonsocket House, which, with 
rooms in adjacent building, has accommodations for 
seventy-five guests, and is kept in a very comfortable 
and homelike manner by Mr. Almanza Rose. 

Situated over one hundred feet above the sea and 
about a quarter of a mile from the Landing, on the 
road to the South Light, stands the Highland House, 



HOTELS. 53 

from which the land slopes away on all sides, enabling 
it to command an extended prospect. It has rooms 
for about seventy-five guests, and is a comfortable, 
moderate-priced house, run by the proprietor, Mr. D, 
Alonzo Mitchell. 

A short distance to the eastward from the High- 
land House, a little lower, but similarly situated, is 
the Norwich House, kept by Mr. J. E. Rose. It is 
reached by a private way, entering near the Highland 
House. It has a capacity for only some twenty 
guests, but affords a very jileasant outlook and a 
quiet place for those of limited means. 

A little distance north from the Highland House, 
on the opposite side of the road, is the Bellevue 
House, the name being indicative of its location. It 
is kept by Mr. M. D. Mott, who provides in a com- 
fortable manner for about twenty-five guests, and 
patrons speak of the Bellevue House as a very home- 
like place. 

Half way down the hill to the Landing is the Union 
House, built last year by Mr. L. A. Ball. This house 
was scarcely in order last season, so it has no estab- 
lished record ; but it is conveniently located near the 
Landing, yet suflFiciently aside from the main street 
to escape the noise and dust ; it has rooms for about 
seventy-five guests, the terms are moderate, and the 
proprietor, a man of intelligence, disposed to do his 
utmost for its j^atrons. 

About three fourths of a mile south of the Landing, 
on very high ground, commanding an extensive pros- 



54 



BLOCK ISLAND. 



pect, is the Block Island House, opened last season 
by Capt. Geo. W. Conley, of the steamer " Daniel- 
son." It is a plain, substantial structure, supple- 
mental to his residence, with plenty of space about 
it, and having" rooms for about hfty guests. The 
Captain secured a good number of patrons last 
season. The writer's knowledge of the house is very 
limited, but he can commend the proprietor to all as 
a man of sterling character. 

A little distance to the north of the Centre, quite 
pleasantly situated on a sightly rise of ground, is the 
Central Hotel. Its proprietor, Mr. Ray S. Lit- 
tlefield, has, during the past winter, enlarged it to 
a capacity of about one hundred guests. A new 
road having been recently opened directly to the 
beach, though still some distance away, makes the 
house much more desirable than formerly. 

The Pequot House, on the main road, close by the 
Landing, and having rooms for about sixty guests, is 
owned and conducted by Mr. D. B. Dodge. It is 
a comfortably fitted, medium-priced house, well 
suited to those who enjoy being in sight of the island 
travel. 

A few rods further down the road is the Narragan- 
sett Hotel, similarly situated, and with the adjacent 
building, having rooms for about the same number as 
the Pequot House, with which it also tallies in other 
respects. Mr. Randall, who last season was clerk at 
the Hotel Neptune, has leased it for this season. 

On the little point west from the Landing, built on 
the bluff's edge some twenty feet above the sea, is 



HOTELS. 



55 



Surf Cottage, the residence of Mr. C. W. Willis, who 
provides in a liberal manner for a few boarders. 

Some half a mile north of this point by the Neck 
Road, and standing a little distance back of the beach, 
is the Sea Side House, erected preparatory to the 
coming season. It is somewhat isolated, but is near- 



/- 



M:^ 







FLEET DRYING SAILS. 

est the bathing houses, and rather pleasantly situ- 
ated. It is to be a moderate-priced house, with 
rooms for about seventy-five guests. 

Close by the Landing, standing where the first 
public house was opened on Block Island, is the 
Adrian House, kept by Mr. Nathan Mott. It has 
rooms for some thirty guests, and is a cheap and 
popular place, open throughout the entire year. 



56 BLOCK ISLAiXD. 

Rose Cottage is on the hillside near the Spring 
House. It is the residence Mrs. Matilda Rose, is 
well patronized and highly spoken of, and has rooms 
for about twenty guests. 

.Besides the houses already enumerated, there are 
many farmhouses where a few boarders are taken 
during the summer months, and some of which 
afford superior accommodations, at a very moderate 
rate. 

In addition to the usual varieties of food, the tables 
are generally abundantly supplied with fish and 
lobsters, fresh from the sea. 

The Block Island mutton has always been famous, 
and excels in flavor that found in other sections of 
this country, no doubt owing to the peculiar climatic 
conditions and excellent grazing. 



Public Buildings. 



Aside from the hotels, the public buildings of Block 
Island, as n"ia\' be surmised, are unpretentit)us and 
few in number, yet worthy of a passing notice as in a 
measure indicative of the status of its inhabitants as 
compared with other rural communities. 

At the Centre may be found that indispensable edi- 
fice inciilent to every place, the Town Hall, which in 
'this instance is of \"ery humble proportions, having 
been originally built by the town many years ago as 
a meeting-house, and afterwards appropriated for a 
Town Hall. T'or some years past it has also been in 
use as a school-room by the Island High School, hav- 
ing been fitted up for that j^urj^ose by the town. 

A few rods from the Town Hall stands the First 
1-iaptist Church, erected in 1857, and similar in size 
and general appearance to the average country church. 
It has a membership of about five hundred, and is in 
charge of Rev. Charles A. Braithwaite, who com- 
menced his i)astorate in 1883 as successor to Rev. 
W. A. Durfee. 

Although among the first settlers there were sev- 
eral devout families, and a deeji religious senti- 
ment per\-aded the communitv. the first invitation to 



58 BLOCK ISLAND. 

a minister to settle there was extended in 1700. The 
first meeting-house was erected probably in 1756, and 
the first church organized in 1772. 

Situated on the west side, on elevated land, com- 
manding a charming prospect, is the Free Will Bap- 
tist Church, which was erected after great efforts on 
the part of that society, to replace one similar to that 
at the Centre, which was demolished in the gale of 
1869, just before completion. 

The reader is referred to Rev. S. T. Livermore's 
" History of Block Island " for an extended account of 
the churches and church organizations. 

Throughout the island there seems to be a deep 
sense of respect for the law of God, the inhabitants 
generally scrupulously observing the Sabbath day, 
much to the chagrin of a certain class of graceless 
visitors, who are disposed to desecrate it by fishing 
excursions. And indeed, how can he " whose life is 
passed amid the perils of the deep, where thunders 
roll, and lightings blaze, and yawning waves devour,, 
where rocks and shoals menace and fires consume,, 
how can he live there and be an irreligious man } " 

The schools of Block Island have been pronounced 
by the School Commissioners "as good as those in 
any of the country towns in the State." In addition 
to the Island High School, which was first opened in 
1875 at the Town Hall, there are five district schools,, 
in charge of well-drilled teachers, and having a good 
attendance. The school-houses are very plain build- 
ings, but the newer ones are of good size and well 
arranged. 



PUBLIC BCILDIXGS. 59 

The Odd Fellows' Hall at the Harbor Village is a 
plain, substantial building, having a very pleasant 
hall in the upper story, which is occupied by Nep- 
tune Lodge No. 26, organized in 1872. The Atlan- 
tic Lodge of Masons also meet here at present, hav- 
ing vacated the hall over the blacksmith shop, a few 
rods east and across the road. 

There is also a flourishing Lodge of Good Tem- 
plars on the island. 

The lower floor of the Odd Fellows' Building is oc- 
cupied as a confectionery store and ice-cream saloon. 

The Block Island Post Office is situated a little dis- 
tance west of the Landing in the little store building 
of Mr. C. \V. Willis, who is postmaster. Although 
the office was much improved last season, and affords 
ample space for its }nn-poses during the larger part 
of the year, it is entirely inadequate for the handling 
with facility of the large mails daily brought in 
through the summer months, and which are annually 
increasing in volume. Postmaster Willis is very ac- 
tive and obliging, doing his best to fulfil the duties of 
his office. He tloes a thriving business in his little 
shop, which fairly bristles with a most unique assort- 
ment of goods. 

A few steps west of the Post Office, in a little wing 
attached to Mr. J. T. Dodge's general store, is the 
cable office of the U. S. Signal Service, or Military 
Telegraph, which is available to the public, or for 
" commercial business," during a large part of the 
day. The cable e.xtends from a point near the North 



€0 BLOCK ISLAN^D. 

Light to Point Judith, about eleven miles distant, 
and the wires go overland thence to Narragansett 
Pier, connecting with the Western Union. The 
rates for messages are for ten words, twenty-five 
cents, and one cent for each additional word. 

The island is well supplied with stores, several of 
which, especially Mr. C. C. Ball's near the Landing, 
and Mr. Lorenzo Littlefield's at the Centre, are hand- 
some modern buildings, filled with a large assortment 
of general merchandise, and add much to the ap- 
pearance of the place. 

At the Landing, situated in the large new build- 
ing erected by Mr. C. C. Ball, last year, is a neat and 
well-ordered drug-store, fitted up by Mr. Frank C. 
Cundall, of East Greenwich, R. I., who is an experi- 
enced pharmacist. In addition to a large stock of 
drugs and medicines, a good assortment of toilet and 
fancy articles are kept on hand, which the inability of 
summer visitors in years past to readily procure has 
often been a source of much discomfort. This new 
enterprise, especially in behalf of patrons of the 
hotels, was duly appreciated by them last season, 
and a gratifying success given to Mr. Cundall. 

A little distance further down the road and on the 
opposite side, Mr. H. O. Morton, the popular photog- 
rapher, of Providence, has recently completed a very 
tastefully finished building, to be used as a studio and 
residence during the summer months. He is widely 
known as a very superior artist, and his handsome 
studio is well worthy of a visit. 



PUBLIC BLJLDJiyCS. 



6i 




Government Buildings. 



Block Island has two lighthouses, the oldest of 
which is called the North Light from its situation on 
Sandy Point, the northern extremity of the island. 

It is a very substantial granite building, and was 
erected in 1867, as the successor of three others, built 
in 1829, 1837, and 1857 respectively, all of which 
had been rendered unserviceable by storms and shift- 
ing sands. Here was the location of the 

" One set at the mouth of the Sound to hold 
The coast-Hght up in its turret old. 
Yellow with moss and sea-fog mould." 

It is about five miles distant from the harbor, and 
is reached by the Neck Road, which, after passing 
over the low, sandy region between the Great Pond 
and the sea, leads through the fairest portion of the 
island. 

Mr. Hiram D. Ball, the present keeper of the North 
Light, was appointed by President Lincoln in 1861. 

The New or South Light is situated on the south- 
eastern part of the island, near the edge of the famous 
Mohegan Bluff, and the lantern stands two hundred 
and four feet above the sea. This is one of the finest 
and best ecjuipped lighthouses on the coast. It is a 



GOVERNMENT FUILDIXGS. 6^ 

handsome brick structure, erected in 1874 at a cost of 
^75,000, and was first li-iited on February i, 1875. 
In addition to the lantern-tower, which is about fift\" 
feet hii;h, it contains apai"tnients for tlie families of 
the keepers. 

Passing through the hallway into the tower, one 
enters first the oil-room, where is stored in large 
tanks from nine hundred to a thousand gallons of 
refined lard-oil, the cjuantity annuall}" consumed b^■ 
the powcrtul lamp. The ascent from the oil-room to 
the lantern is made by a spiral staircase of iron. 
Immediately below the lamp is the keeper's room, 
where a constant watch is kept during the night to 
keep the flame at the proper height, replace broken 
chimneys, and sec that nothing intcn-upts the i:)ropcr 
workings of the light, on which depends the safety of 
many thousand vessels that pass this point annuall}. 

A few steps higher up is the lantern, which is 
about ten feet high and a dozen feet in diameter, the 
framework of iron, — in fact, no wood is used about 
the tower, — and containing a magnificent Fresnel 
Fi.\ed Light of the first order, which is a marvel of 
ingenuity in the scientific arrangement of the lenses, 
which cost about $10,000. and consist of a cylindri- 
cal hoop of glass as a refracting lens, above and below 
which are separate glass prisms of triangular section, 
placed at jKoper angles to reflect and refract the light, 
which would otherwise be uselessly expended in illu- 
minating the clouds, or downward in illuminating the 
floor of the lantern, so that all the light is made to 



64 



BLOCK ISLAND. 







GOVERXMEXT HUILDIXGS. 65 

finally pass out in rays parallel to those of the central 
lens. 

The whole is arranged in the form of a hollow cyl- 
inder, narrowing at the top and bottom, twelve feet 
in height and six feet in diameter, in the centre of 
which is placed the lamp, which is provided with an 
ingenious self-feeding apparatus, and has four circular 
wicks, one within another, the largest being three 
and one half inches in diameter, and the smallest 
seven eighths of an inch. The flame is surrounded 
by a chimney, and kept at a certain height constantly. 
During the long winter nights the lamp will consume 
two and a half gallons of oil. Through the day the 
lenses are covered with linen curtains to prevent the 
rays of the sun from striking the lamp and unsolder- 
ing the brass work. 

From the balcony that surrounds tlie tower may be 
obtained a magnificent sea view. 

Mr. H. W. Clark, the keeper of the light, whose 
courtesy to the thousands who annually visit here will 
be gratefully remembered, has been in charge since 
the first opening of the light, and has two assistants. 

In addition to the lighthouse, these men have also 
to care for and operate the fog signal, which is located 
about a hundred feet to the eastward of it. During 
fogs and storms, when the light is of little value, the 
mariners are warned to avoid this dangerous island 
by the piercing notes of the siren, as it is called. The 
apparatus consists of a four-horse-power boiler and a 
trumpet of cast-iron, seventeen feet long in this in- 



66 BLOCK ISLAND. 

Stance, which directs towards the sea the sound which 
is made by the siren placed at its small end. 

The sound is produced by the rapid revolutions 
past each other of two flat discs pierced with a great 
number of small holes. A jet of steam under high 
pressure is projected against the discs, which revolve 
past each other more than a thousand times a min- 
ute. As the rows of small holes in the two discs 
come opposite each other, the steam vehemently 
rushes through, and makes the singular and piercing 
noise which the siren gives forth. 

To provide against any accident that might disable 
one siren, two are placed in the building, each having 
its own boiler and being entirely independent of the 
other. 

The South Light is reached by a very good road 
from the Harbor, branching off from Main Street at 
the Skating Rink, and thence by High and Dodge 
Streets to Sands Pond, where a cart-path, passing 
eastward through the fields, must be taken. The dis- 
tance by road is about three miles, while by the foot- 
path along the bluff east of the Landing, and thence by 
cart-paths and lanes, it is less than a mile and a half. 

A few steps west of the Landing, on the edge of the 
laluffs, stands one of the two United States Life Sav- 
ing Stations located on Block Island. It is a plain, 
iDut neatly finished and rather picturesque building, 
having a boat-room and mess-room or kitchen on the 
lower floor, and two sleeping-rooms and a store-room 
above. In this building the keeper, or captain, and 
crew live from September i to May i. 



GO VERNMENT B U/L DINGS. 6y 

The crew of six surfmen are chosen from the fish- 
ermen of the island by the captain, and are under his 
command. " Drawing their first breath within sound of 
the surf, thev pass their childhood viewing; the sea in all 
its moods," and being brought in contact with it fre- 
quently from early youth to manhood, they gradually 
acquire an intimate knowledge of their island coast 
and its bordering currents, rocks, and shoals, and the 
peculiar characteristics of its surf, 

Capt. J. H. Merryman, in an excellent article on the 
U. S. Life Saving Service, published in Scrilvicr's 
Monthly for January, 1880, from which the accompany- 
ing engravings are taken by kind permission of the 
Century Company, says : " It is an erroneous notion 
that the experiences of a sailor qualify him for the surf. 
The sailor's home is at sea. He is rarely called upon to 
ply an oar in a small boat, particularly in a high surf, 
and his vocation gives him little knowledge of the 
surfman's realm, which is the beach and a portion of 
the sea extending but little beyond the breakers." 
The surfman, on the other hand, is not necessarily a 
sailor. 

The crew is instructed in the uses of the apj^aratus 
by officers of the Revenue Marine. 

The various scientific appliances provided by the 
Government are kei)t in constant readiness in the 
boat-room of the station, and consist of a light and 
strong surf-boat, provided with air-chambers in both 
sides and at each end. This boat is mounted on a 
light vehicle, having four wheels with \erv broad fel- 



68 



BLOCK ISLAND. 



loes, so that it can be more easily drawn over the 
sandy beaches by the crew, horses not being pro- 
vided. 

Standing beside the surf-boat is the mortar-cart, a 
simple, two-wheeled cart with a box-body, in which 
are kept in readiness the mortar and appliances used 




DRILL IN SURF BOAT. 

(By permission from the Century Company.) 



in rendering aid to shipwrecks. Placed about the 
room in an orderly manner are the various auxiliary 
articles sometimes called into requisition. 

The mess-room is appropriately furnished and pro- 
vided with a cook-stove and necessary utensils. The 
sleeping-rooms contain simply a few narrow iron bed- 
steads, comfortably fitted up. 



GO VEKXMENT B UILDINGS. 69 

The duties of the surfnicn during the day are not 
particularly burdensome, though rather monotonous, 
and consist chiefly in keeping the building and 
apparatus in order or preparing their simple meals. 
At night, however, they become severe, and often 
fraught with much danger. 

The interval from sunset to sunrise is divided into 
three equal watches, and two of the crew are detailed 
to patrol the coast during each of these watches, at 
the beginning of which the men set out in opposite di- 
rections, proceeding along the shore, and keeping a 
sharp lookout over the sea until they meet the patrol- 
men from the station situated on the west side, with 
whom certain tokens are exchanged as proof to the 
captain that this duty has been faithfully performed. 

During the severe storms which sweep over the is- 
land through the winter months, the path of the pa- 
trolman along these exposed shores is often beset 
with perils. To aid him in tracing his wa}', he carries 
a lantern, and is also provided with a signal made of 
a comjiosition which buiiis with an intense crimson 
flame, and which is displayed in case he discovers a 
vessel too close in for safety, thus warning the un- 
guarded mariners to stand off. 

In case a wreck is discovered, the patrolman first 
burns his signal to apprise the shipwrecked of the 
fact, then hurries back to report at the station, where- 
upon the captain, having from the nature of the report 
decided what course to pursue in the particular case, 
gives the word of command, and the whole crew are 
off at once to the scene of the disaster, fully equipped. 



yo BLOCK ISLAND. 

When from the nature of the case it is deemed in- 
expedient to use the surf-boat, the captain orders out 
the mortat-cart, which is quickly manned. Arriving 
at the place of the wreck, the well-trained men, each 
assigned to a particular duty, simultaneously place 
the various appliances in position, when the mortar is 
fired, and the shot with line attached is sent flying 
over the wreck. The shot line is eagerly seized by 
the unfortunate mariners, who. commence hauling it 
in, the surfmen in the mean time having connected 
it to an endless line called the "whip," which soon 
reaches the wreck, bearing a board ori which are 
printed directions, and a tail-block which is soon made 
fast. The surfmen then commence to operate the 
whip, to which a hawser or stout rope has already 
been attached, which is soon on board and firmly se- 
cured. The shore end of the hawser, being connected 
by tackle-blocks to an anchor sunk in the earth, is 
hauled taut, after which it is raised a dozen feet in 
the air by means of a wooden crotch which consti- 
tutes a sort of pier for this simple suspension bridge. 
The breeches-buoy, or in some cases the life-car, is 
slung from the hawser, on which it is drawn to and 
fro, and the imperilled seamen soon brought safely 
ashore. 

This entire operation has been performed at a prac- 
tice drill in the incredibly short time of three and one 
half minutes, and the writer has been present at sev- 
eral such occasions when the actual time consumed 
was but a trifle more. During actual service, the ap- 



GO I 'ERNMEiXT B L ILDINGS. 



n 



~ z 

r O 

r; 

r O 

=■ > 

= 50 




72 BLOCK ISLAND. 

paratus of course cannot be put in operation so expe- 
ditiously, owing to the stormy weather and lack of 
skilled practice on the part of the shipwrecked in 
performing their portion of the work. 

The unfortunate sufferers are generally, through ex- 
posure and exhaustion, rendered almost helpless, de- 
manding the continued attention of the surfmen, who 
immediately set about conveying them to the station, 
where they are provided with dry clothing, warmed 
and fed, and if necessary, stimulants and such simple 
restoratives as are kept in the medicine-chest provided 
by the service, prudently administered, while the 
wounds of those who may have been injured by the 
wreckage are carefully dressed. The crew are annually 
instructed how to perform these remedial duties, as 
well as drilled in the method for resuscitating the ap- 
parently drowned, and procedure in other emergency 
cases, by an officer of the Marine Hospital Service. 

The Life Saving Service was organized in 1871, and 
is under the management of a general superintend- 
ent, who is an officer of the Treasury Department. 
All its officers are invested with authority of customs 
officers, thus forming a valuable auxiliary of the Reve- 
nue Service. Lack of space prevents the admission 
of a detailed account of the plan of the organization 
as well as the result attained, but its efficacy is 
clearly demonstrated by the reduction of over eighty 
per cent, in the loss of life by shipwrecks in the va- 
rious districts, as shown by a comparison of its records 
with the statistics of the same before the service was 
established. 



GO I 'ERNMENT fi UILDINGS. 



73 




LIFE-SAVING CREW AT WORK. 

(Ity iienuisslon of the Century ( i>in|>:iiiy-' 



Wrecking. 



The peculiarly exposed situation of Block Island 
has caused it to be from time immemorial a stumbling 
block to mariners, and especially to those engaged in 
the carrying trade along our coast. Its name is 
prominent in wrecking annals, and conspicuous in 
the terrible record of marine disasters which have 
happened all along the ten thousand miles of coast 
line in the United States. 

Even a brief account of the many notable ship- 
wrecks and vessels stranded on its dangerous shores 
would occupy more space than the limits of this 
sketch permits. 

Twice have six vessels come ashore on the island 
in a single day, and during one week in the summer 
of 1880 no less, than eleven ran aground here, notwith- 
standing the Government has guarded its dangerous 
coast with the best cautionary signals that modern 
skill has devised to warn the unwary. Although these 
instances are extraordinary, wrecks have been very 
frequent, and hundreds of hapless seamen been cast 
upon its shores during the last two centuries. 

The number of lives lost during all these years has 
been comparatively small, but the loss of property 



WKECKIXG. 



75 



has been enormous, amounting to millions of dollars, 
while millions more have been saved by the island 
wreckers. 

" The stories and legends of the wreckers so often 
told and written are calculated to leave very errone- 
ous impressions of the humane exertions of the wreck- 
ing bands scattered at intervals along our whole 
Atlantic coast." 




THE BREAKING UP. 



The popular ideal wrecker, who is depicted as an 
ill-omened ghoul, luring vessels ashore by false lights 
and then swooping down upon them like a binl of 
prey, may have existed a ccnturv ago elsewhere, 
certainly not here. The modern wrecker is a widely 
different character, who contributes his skill and indi- 
vidual daring to the unfortunate mariner's aid. 



^6 BLOCK ISLAND. 

The Block Island wreckers are organized into two 
"gangs," known respectively as the Old Protection 
Wrecking Company and the New Wrecking Com- 
pany. The first named was organized in i860, and 
has, between that date and the present time, dis- 
lodged and carried into port all sorts of craft, aggregat- 
ting in value more than one million and a half dollars. 
The New Company was not organized until some 
time afterward, and for a number of years was closely 
identified with the Old Protection Company, sharing 
equally in the profits, but in 1876 it became entirely 
distinct. 

Each company is fully equipped with hawsers, 
lines, cables, anchors, blocks, windlasses, empty casks 
used in buoying up the stranded vessel, and a variety 
of large and small boats, all of which is termed 
" wrecking gear," and stored at convenient stations 
at various points on the island. 

The members are scattered all over the island, and 
each acts as a watchman for the discovery of wrecks 
in his vicinity. In case one is detected, the alarm is 
immediately spread, when all hasten to the place, and 
if possible a party of them board the grounded vessel 
and negotiate with the captain for the clearing of his 
craft, and getting her safely into port. As consider- 
able rivalry exists among the two "gangs," the cap- 
tain is generally enabled to make a very advantageous 
contract, which is made in writing, naming the stipu- 
lated sum, which is ordinarily about two thousand five 
hundred dollars, although sometimes not half, and 



IVKECA'/XG. yy 

occasionally double, that sum. As soon as the con- 
tract is closed, a careful examination is made to ascer- 
tain her condition and the best method to pursue in 
getting her off, which being speedily determined, the 
necessary gear is at once brought to the scene of 
action, and operations commenced as early as practi- 
cable. Should she have been found to have only 
touched lightly on the sands, the wreckers set about 
to lighten and buoy her up by means of empty casks, 
trusting to flood-tide and the aid of a tug-boat to 
get her off. When hard aground, these measures 
are entirely inadequate, so they first sink immense 
anchors several cables" length abaft of her, from which' 
great hawsers stretch to the wreck, and after being 
made fast by a perfect network of ropes, so arranged 
as to distribute the strain as equally as possible to all 
parts of her, a flood-tide is awaited, when power is 
applied to the hawsers, which are soon hauled taut 
by means of a windlass and pulleys connecting with 
their shore end. The enormous power obtained by 
the windlass soon hauls the vessel away from the 
shore toward the anchors, accomplishing what would 
be impossible to a dozen steam-tugs. Sometimes, 
however, even this method is unavailing. " In such a 
case, the wrecker awaits a storm heavy enough to 
loosen the wreck from the grip of the sand ; it may 
be days and weeks in coming, but it comes at last^ 
and in the height of its fury the men stand to the 
windlass, the power is applied, the seas toss her, the 
tide lifts, the anchors tug seaward with the jjower of 



78 



FLOCK ISLAND. 



I «^^ 




WRECKING. 79 

a thousand horses. By and b}' she moves slightly, 
again and again, and at last, with a supreme effort, 
she leaves the bar and shoots out to her anchors." 

Then comes the often perilous duty of taking her, 
generallv in a badly damaged condition, safely into 
port, there to receive the thanks of her owners, and 
obtain their well-earned money. 

The wrecker's calling is a very hazardous one, the 
gangs risking their li\es and the considerable cajM- 
tal inxestod in the various appliances or gear; and 
although they have in some instances amassed snug 
little fortunes, they occasionally meet with heavy 
losses, as they take the entire risk of losing the ves- 
sel and their property. Sometimes, when their labors 
are almost ended, a severe storm will come, and the 
hawsers chafe and part, when the ship is again dashed 
among the breakers, perhaps to be a total wreck. 



fiSHING. 



From the days of the aboriginal inhabitants of 
Block Island, its surrounding waters have been pre- 
eminent as fishing grounds. 

Sea food was a favorite with the American Indians 
generally, and with the Manissees formed an import- 
ant share of their food supply, as it also does to the 
present inhabitants of the island. 

There seems to be current an erroneous notion 
that a large majority of the Block Islanders are fish- 
ermen, while in fact about two thirds of them are 
principally engaged in agricultural pursuits, by whom 
culture has been carried to every hill-top. 

Notwithstanding this fact, the fisheries are a very 
important source of income to the inhabitants, the 
total revenue amounting annually to about $75,000, 
and without which the island would scarcely be able 
to sustain so dense a population. 

The cod, mackerel, and swordfish are those chiefly 
sought for commercial purposes, although, since the 
enormous influx of summer visitors, the famous Block 
Island bluefish, so much in demand by them, forms 
an important addition to the list. 



FISIILYG. 8 1 

Since the establishment of the National Harbor, 
forming a safe and convenient anchorage, large num- 
bers of fishing smacks, from various ports all along 
the New England coast, resort here during the fish- 
ing season to vie with the island fishermen, much to 
the disgust of the latter, whose gains are thereby con- 
siderably diminished. 

A great variety of craft are engaged in this indus- 
try, but the most interesting are the peculiar Block 
Island boats, which have attracted the attention of 
nautical men wherever they have wandered. 

An inhabitant of the island thus describes them : — 
" They are the ablest sea-going undecked craft in the 
world, and there does not once in five years occur a 
storm so perilous that the largest of these boats, well- 
trimmed and ably manned, cannot pass to and fra 
between the island and Newport. They are from 
twelve to thirty-five feet in length, and the largest of 
tliem will carry from ten to fifteen tons, and draw 
about si.x feet of water when loaded. They are lap- 
streaked, and built of very thin cedar, from one half 
to seven eighths of an inch in thickness. Their 
knees and timbers are of oak, and very strongly and 
lightly made. They are primarily and principally sea 
boats, and aie not, as compared with other \essels, 
remarkable for speed when going with a free wind, 
or in light weather ; but in a deep sea, close hauled, 
and especially during heavy gales of wind, they are 
imusually fast. They carry two sails, a foresail and 
a mainsail, the foresheet leading aft. The origin of 
their model is unknown.'' Their distinguishing fea- 



82 



BLOCK ISLAND. 




risiiixG. 83 

ture consists in being pointed at both ends, with the 
stern and stem posts rising at an angle of forty-five 
degrees from the keel, and also in ha\-ing twt) slender 
masts, without shrouds or jib-stays, and carrying two 
narrow, tapering sails. 

" The fishing grounds are many in number, and 
designated by a great number of names, ' Covill ' 
being one of the most popular. Most of these are 
situated on the bank, so-called, it being an irregular 
ledge of rocks about twelve miles south of Block 
Island and from ten to fifteen miles in length, with 
deej) water within and beyond it. The proximity to 
this ledge is determined by sounding, and the par- 
ticular grounds upon it in clear weather by ranges on 
the land ; but in foggy weather, when the land cannot 
be seen, some of the old fishermen will steer so accu- 
rately, making calculations on wind and tide, and 
know so weir the depth of water on all parts of it, 
that they will go day after day, and anchor on a par- 
ticular spot, not more than a cpiarter of an acre in 
area, as certainly and surely as though on land. 
Coggeshall Ledge, a famous fishing-ground for late 
spring and summer fishing, is about thirty miles 
southeast from the island. 

" The spring codfishing here commences about the 
first of April, and lasts until about the first of June, 
though cod, to some extent, are caught through the 
summer months. An average share per man for the 
spring fishing would be perhaps twenty quintals, 
though sometimes thev do not get half that, and occa- 



84 BLOCK ISLAND 

sionally hand shares of seventy-five quintals have 
been divided. 

" Block Island codfish are in high demand, owing to 
the fact that they are dressed within a few hours 
after being^caught, and thoroughly salted and cured. 
When the fish are brought ashore, they are thrown 
into five equal heaps, one of which the owner of the 
boat takes, and its technical appellation is ' stand- 
ings.' The rest are equally divided amongst the 
crew, owners and all." Each man then proceeds to 
dress his own fish, which being completed, they are 
carried to the fish-house, counted, and placed in pickle 
preliminary to drying. The honor of " high hook "■ 
is then conferred on the fortunate winner of the 
greatest number. 

Through the month of July the waters in the vicin- 
ity of Block Island!]abound with swordfish, the increas- 
ing demand for which in late years has caused a large 
number of craft^to engage in their capture. The vis- 
itors to the island during this period have therefore 
a rare opportunity to accompany some of the fisher- 
men and witness the procedure, which is very inter- 
esting, and often becomes a most exciting sport. 

The favorite fishing grounds are to the southeast 
of the island,^the large boats often making out thirty 
miles or more. 

The fleet usually leave the harbor between four 
and five o'clock in the morning, not all at once, but 
as each feels inclined. " First a skipper more active 
than the others hoists his sail, darts through the rift in 



FISHING. 85 

the breakwater, and passes swiftly out upon the heav- 
ing, tumbling waters ; another and another quickly 
follow, until in a short time the whole fleet, in strag- 
gling line, or two or three abreast, is speeding over 
the waves." During the outward run the fleet keeps 
well together until they near the haunts of the sword- 
fish, when one of the crew mounts to the foretop and 
keeps a sharp lookout. Having descried one of these 
extraordinary " ocean swordsmen " sporting in the dis- 
tance, he directs the course of the boat, and the 
chase begins. Active preparations are commenced 
on board, and "one of the crew runs nimbly out upon 
the bowsprit and leaning against the semicircular 
iron band that tips the stanchion, unlashes the long 
harjjoon, which, from the radiating character of the 
manv ircjn prongs, is called the lily-iron. The rest of 
the hands see that the rope attached to the pole is 
not fouled with the downhaul, that the coil in the 
tub is in shape, and that the gayly painted keg at the 
end of the rope is ready for use. H\' the time these 
minor details have been attended to, the sharp dorsal 
fin of the huge fish may be seen from the deck, cut- 
ting the sea and rushing about in an erratic manner." 
Soon the boat is skilfully brought down upon him, 
when, with mar\'ellous dexterity and unerring aim, 
the lily-iron is cast, the rope quickly jjaid out. and 
the keg thrown overboard. Then ensues an exciting 
chase after the keg, which acts as a buoy to mark the 
course of the swordfish in his death-struggle. 

After he has become exhausted, the keg is picked 



86 



BLOCK ISLAND. 




THROWING THE LILY-IRON. 

(By permission tiuiii I.ippiucotl's MaRazine). 



/■VS///.VG. 8/ 

up, and the line hauled in until the monster appears 
on the surface, when with stronj,^ lines and pikes he 
is soon on the dock. 

The average size of the swordfish caui;ht about tiie 
island is about two hundred and fifty pounds, but fre- 
quently the boats bring in fish double that weight. 

It is of a long and roun;led body, largest near the 
head, and tapering gradually to the tail, which is 
remarkably forked ; its skin is considerably rough, its 
back black, and belly of a silvery white. It is most 
remarkable for the shape of its snout, which is 
extended in the form of a sword in the upper jaw, the 
under being much shorter, and terminates in a very 
sharp point. 

A curious fact in regard to them is that they breed 
on the other side of the .Atlantic, and hence young 
ones are rarely found here. 

The capture of swordfish is one of the most ancient 
pursuits on record, they being held in high esteem 
by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, whose method 
of taking them was identical with ours. Thev are 
very pugnacious, and many instances might be cited 
of attacks made on ships. In 1871, the yacht " Red 
Hot," of New Bedford, used by Professor Baird of the 
fish commissioners, was sent to the bottom by one. 
Specimens of ship-timbers pierced by swordfish may 
be seen at the Boston Natural History Rooms, also 
in Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. 

The swordfish industry has become a verv impor- 
tant one here, and tons of them are annually shipped 
to New York and Boston. 



88 BLOCK ISLAND. 

Another valuable fish taken is the mackerel, and 
Avhen they are in the offing in June, the Block Island 
fleet, joined to the stranger fishermen, sometimes 
presents a most charming picture. " As they anchor 
at night," to use the language of another, " under the 
lee of the island, the lights in the rigging, the fantas- 
tic forms of the men dressing the fish, the shouts of 
old shipmates recognizing each other, the splash of 
the waves, the creaking of the tackle, the whistling 
of the wind, the fleecy clouds flying across the face 
of the moon, conspire to make a picture that seems 
more like a fairy vision than a reality." 

The famous Block Island bluefish are taken all 
through the hotel season. They are generally larger 
than those caught at points along the adjacent shores 
of the mainland, and are very abundant. The 
method of catching them by trolling from a small 
sailboat combines an exhilarating little cruise about 
the island with the genuine sport of landing the 
gamey fish, and has deservedly become a favorite rec- 
reation with the summer visitors. 

Tautog are also very abundant about the island, 
and although generally held in high esteem else- 
where, very little attention has been given to them 
here, thus far. An increasing interest, however, 
seems to be showing itself in regard to this excellent 
table fish, and the few who have engaged in their 
capture have been well repaid The lobster-fish- 
ing about the island forms quite an important indus- 
try, and is of especial interest to the patrons of the 



I-JSIIL\G. 



89 



= K 

- r 

M > 

£ CO 

= H 

r CO 

r JO 

I S 

■'■ o 

» r- 




90 BLOCK ISLAND. 

hotels, inasmuch as they are assured of an abun- 
dance of them fresh from the sea. 

In 1867 a company of islanders introduced here 
the device known as a "pound," and the success of 
this method of catching fish proved so great that 
a number of them are now maintained, all on the 
west side. 

" A pound is the marine counterpart of a corral," 
and consists of a long row of spiles driven into the 
sea bottom, and extending usually about a quarter of 
a mile directly off shore, against the sides of which 
cotton netting is fastened, forming a sort of subma- 
rine fence, which is called the "leader," and which 
terminates in a heart-shaped structure constructed in 
a similar manner. The small end of the "heart" 
has an opening which leads into an enclosure, made 
also of spiles and netting, and some fifty feet square, 
with a bottom of netting, and which constitutes the 
"pound " proper. 

The operation of the pound is very simple. Cod, 
scup, mackerel, bluefish, foraging along the coast, 
and approaching from either side, are stopped by the 
fence, and proceed to swim around by the deep-water 
end, since they cannot pass on the shore side ; at the 
end of the leader they enter the heart, and still seek- 
ing deep water, enter the pound through the aper- 
ture, from whose intricacies they rarely escape. 
Every morning the pound-keepers row out and lift 
one side of the pound, thus throwing its inmates in a 
heap on the other, whence they are taken out with 
wire baskets. 



F/SHLVG. 



91 



The inland waters of the island also abound in fish, 
particularly the Great Pond, which affords a source of 
much pleasure to many who are unable to withstand 
the ocean swell, while the pond is yet large enough 
to afford a delightful sail. Frequently large parties 
of ladies and gentlemen, equipped with well-filled 
lunch-baskets, make excursions to the Great Pond, 
which is becoming more popular every season as a 
place of recreation. 

To those well initiated in the fisherman's art, the 
black bass found in the Bass Pond exercise a fascina- 
ting influence, and some of the more skilful anglers 
have captured some particularly fine specimens. 

To the expert. Block Island offers one of the 
finest opportunities on the coast for striped bass fish- 
ing, and there is no doubt that this sport outranks 
any angling in the world. The southern coast of 
the island has become famous among adepts in this 
art, for the great size and abundance of these gamey 
fish, and fishing-stands have been erected all along 
the shore, where the devotees of this most refined of 
all sports may always be found when the sea is in a 
favorable condition. The largest striped bass ever 
caught here is reputed to have weighed one hundred 
and six pounds. Last season numbers were caught 
that ranged between forty and fifty pounds. 

When we take into account the necessity for a kind 
of recreation which shall not be too violent for the 
thousands of debilitated citizens who are pent up in 
squares of brick and mortar, and engaged in seden- 



92 BLOCK ISLAND. 

tary occupations, it is impossible to estimate the 
value of fishing, as combining so many important 
features. " It is sufficiently free, airy, and attractive 
to inflate the lungs, jog the biliary organs, and un- 
bend the mind, and is not so difficult to pursue as to 
prevent the most delicate physique from enjoying it." 



Inhabit/ints. 



Although generally considered as mere depen- 
dencies of the main land, islands almost universally 
differ from it, not only as to climate and productions, 
but also as to the individuality of their inhabitants. 

A truthful delineation of the peculiarities that char- 
acterize any individual or community is a difficult and 
delicate undertaking. To attempt such a portrayal 
of the inhabitants of Block Island appears of such 
insuperable difficulty that only the salient features 
will be alluded to. The historian informs us that 
" the Block Islanders are almost wholly descendants 
from genuine primitive New Englanders." 

No other settlement in this country has remained 
so unmixed and free from foreign elements. They 
are a very clannish people, and have married and 
intermarried until practically amalgamated into one 
great family, with some of the attendant evils. As a 



INHABITANTS. 93 

physiological study as to questions of consanguinity, 
they afford a rare field for observation. 

There are certain conditions of hereditary organic 
quality, difficult to describe yet easily perceived, 
which " render the oak, oaken ; the tiger, tigerish ; 
and man, human," exercising a more potential influ- 
ence on the individual than any other cause. 

In view of this the Block Islanders are also exceed 
ingly interesting, as exponents of that peculiar mental 
and moral bias of the Puritan first settlers, who, we 
are told in Macaulay's History, " mistook their own 
vindictive feelings for emotions of piety, . . . and 
when they had worked themselves up into hating their 
enemies, imagined they were hating the enemies of 
Heaven." 

Physically, they are a hardy, healthy people, and 
as one writer says, " with good living and good cli- 
mate, industrious habits, freedom from the anxieties 
of speculation, excessive strife for display, and the 
fears of want while fish traverse the ocean, they can 
hardly be otherwise than healthy and of long life." 

lliey are naturally very intelligent, the standard 
being much in advance of the average rural popula- 
tion on the main land. 

A former pastor of the First Baptist Church of 
Block Island says : " Their frequent visits to the 
ports along the coast, from Portland to New \'ork, 
and the longer voyages that some have taken to for- 
eign countries, have given them a good practical 
knowledge of men and things which makes them per- 



94 BLOCK ISLAND. 

sons of better judgment than many who are more 
extensive readers and more highly refined." 

"The women," says a correspondent, "are gener- 
ally good-looking, with here and there a beauty," 
Another says : "The women are healthy, with bright 
eyes and clear complexions, virtuous and true, and as 
yet without the pale of the blandishments and cor- 
ruptions of fashion ; " and another. " If lacking in 
refined education, this is compensated for by a large 
supply of common sense and native genius." 

The emotional element seems to predominate, and 
they are quite demonstrative. Gesticulations are 
freely resorted to, and impart a sort of emphasis to 
their conversation, which is richly interlarded with 
nautical phrases, the whole assuming the form, in 
some sections, of a peculiar dialect, the interpretation 
of which is a matter of no little difificulty. This style 
of expression has been greatly modified during the 
past few years, especially in the vicinity of the Land- 
ing, owing *to the enormous influx of visitors during 
the summer months, and contact with whom has not 
been without profit in this respect as well as others. 

A large proportion of the inhabitants are engaged 
in farming, while the remainder are fishermen, except- 
ing, of course, the usual complement of tradesmen 
and mechanics found in country towns. The "Three 
Black Graces," Law, Physic, and Divinity, are not 
even fully represented, there never having been a 
resident lawyer on the island. 

The following statement of the population at 



iXHADirAA"rs. 95 

various periods shows the steady growth of the town 
during two centuries up to iS6o, when the highest 
number was reached, since which date there lias been 
a slight decrease to the present time. 

Year. Wliite. Indians. Negri)e«. 

1662 est 30 400 — 

1700 approx 200 350 — 

iSoo 714 iT. 45 

i860 1320 I 2.S 

I S80 1 1 7S I 24 

Of the present inhabitants about ninety-seven per 
cent, are American born, and over ninety per cent, 
born on the island. 

The people are social and hospitable, and almost to 
a man successful in obtaining a good, plain supjiort 
from their own exertions. Not a few have accumu- 
lated a considerable propcrt}", and all have an excel- 
lent faculty of keeping what they have gained. 



Hegej^ds. 



From the days of Homer, down through the mid- 
dle ages replete with those wild tales which were the 
delight of the peasantry, to the present time, few 
countries have not been associated with or do not 
possess some romantic legends. Block Island is no 
exception, and there are also current among its in- 
habitants many superstitious notions, doubtless 
handed down from the early settlers, as they are evi- 
dently derived from the English and Scotch folk- 
lore. 

However reluctant the intelligent part of a commu- 
nity may be to own the fact, it must be admitted that 
superstition in one form or another dwells beneath 
the surface of most human hearts, although it may 
frequently display itself in the most disguised or re- 
fined form. 

Although the writer has collected no inconsidera- 
ble amount of material, the si-^'^^e of .liis little book 
does not admit nor call for an extended recital of the 
same, hence but a few of the more interesting ones 
will be referred to. 

The story of the Phantom Ship has been made 
famous by Whittier's little poem, the " Palatine," in 



LEGENDS. 97 

which it is to be regretted that the inhabitants of the 
island are unjustly represented as being guilty of tlic 
most atrocious conduct. 

The popular version of this story seems to be, that 
earl\- in the last century a ship named the "Pala- 
tine" left Holland for America, having on board a 
large number of passengers who were intending to 
settle near Philadelphia, and that among the number 
were many of considerable wealth, having with them 
monev and valuables for tlie purchase of lands and 
purposes of trade. This treasure excited the cupidity 
of the officers of the ship, who contrived a plan to get 
possession of it. In accordance therewith, the " Pala- 
tine" was kept at sea for many weeks, while the pas- 
sengers were treated with the utmost severity, and 
their supply of food and water cut off, although there 
was an abundance on board. By this means the un- 
fortunate Palatinates, to appease their hunger and 
thirst, were compelled to buy, at the most exorbitant 
jirices, such j^rovisions as these diabolical wretches 
were disposed to meagerly dole out. " Twenty 
guilders for a cup of water, and fifty rix-dollars 
for a ship's biscuit soon reduced the wealth of the 
most opulent among them, and completely impover- 
ished the po<-n- onc^ " After a few weeks their 
number was daily diminished by the death of those 
who, becoming penniless, succumbed to their terrible 
fate, and at last, when the fiendish officers, whose vil- 
lany is "almost unparalleled in the annals of selfish- 
ness," were satisfied that nothing more was to be ob- 



98 BLOCK ISLAND. 

tained from the few surviving victims, abandoned tlie 
siiip somewhere in the vicinity of Long Island. 

Left without any controlling hand, the vessel floated 
helplessly about wherever wind and tide might carry 
her, — " drifting here, drifting there ; land always in 
sight, yet always inaccessible ; some dying from 
weakness and despair, some from surfeit when the 
crew had gone and the provisions were left unguarded, 
all more or less delirious, some raving mad." 

After drifting, nobody knows how long, she struck 
on Sandy Point one bright Sunday morning, not far 
from Christmas Day, and the island wreckers at once 
made their way out to her, and with the exception of 
one woman, who persistently refused to leave the 
ship, removed all the surviving remnant of the pas- 
sengers (some sixteen in number), and carefully min- 
istered to their wants. All but three of them died, 
however ; but two of the survivors lived for many 
years on the island, from whom the story of their 
hardships was obtained. 

At flood-tide the vessel floated clear, and an east- 
erly wind springing ujd, it soon became obvious that 
she would drive out to sea despite the efforts of the 
wreckers, whereupon one of their number set the 
ship on fire for the purpose of compelling the re- 
maining woman to leave the wreck, but she obsti- 
nately maintained her place beside her valuables, 
while the Palatine "drifted away into the gloom 
and darkness of the stormy night." 

" Let us linger for a moment in imasfination on the 



LEGEiVDS. 99 

shore as the ship recedes from si,L;"ht, and picture to 
ourselves the wierd, ghastly, and horrible scene, — the 
beach illuminated by the light of the burning vessel 
and dotted here and there by the figures of the 
wreckers and boatmen, the fierce and angry gusts of 
wind carrying with them blinding whirls of sand, the 
low, sullen roar of the surf with its blinding spray 
driven backward into the darkness, the sullen, merci- 
less billows surging to and fro, around and about the 
doomed ship, all united to form a gloomy, desolate 
framework to the agonizing i)icture of that one lone 
figure for whose life two great antagonistic forces of 
nature were angrily contending." 

■■ But tlie year went round, and when once more 
Around their foam-white curves of shore 
Thev lieard the line storm rave and roar, 

'• Behold again, with shimmer and shine, 
Over the rocks and seething brine. 
The flaming wreck of the I'alatine."' 

This mysterious apparition is the strangest part of 
the tale, for no doubt exists that a singular, luminous 
body did appear off the western shore of the island, 
when the year came round, and continued to hover 
about for a century afterwards, being witnessed by 
scores of respectable peoj^le, many of whom were skep- 
tical tmtil they had been eye-witnesses of this ex- 
traordinary phenomenon. 

Says a writer in Lipf'incott's Magaziiic : " The 
hardy fishermen soon discovered that her appearance 
heralded storm and disaster, nor were they slow in 



I OO BL O CK ISLAND. 

connecting her with the 'Palatine,' which had drifted 
away from their shores the year before, and which 
they believed was now being purified by purgatorial 
fires, her cruel ofifiicers doomed to man her fiery decks 
and haunt the scene of their crimes until this should 
be accomplished. The apparition caused great ex- 
citement among the simple fishermen, and throngs of 
the curious came to see and judge for themselves of 
this strange appearance. For a hundred years the 
light continued to linger about the island, and then 
suddenly disappeared, and it was believed that the 
unquiet spirits were finally at rest." 

After a lapse of fifty years, the phantom suddenly 
reappeared in the summer of 1880, an account of 
which, witnessed by Mr. Joseph P. Hazard, of Narra- 
gansett Pier, R. I., was ])ublished in the local news- 
paper at that time, as follows : — 

" When I first saw the light, it was two miles off the 
coast. I suspected nothing but ordinary sails, how- 
ever, until I noticed that the light, upon reappearing, 
was apparently stationary for a few moments, when it 
suddenly started towards the coast, and, immediately 
expanding, became much less bright, assuming some- 
what the form of a long, narrow jib, sometimes two 
of them, as if each was on a different mast. I saw 
neither spar nor hull, but noticed that the speed was 
very great, certainly not less than fifteen knots, and 
they surged and pitched as though madly rushing 
upon raging billows." 

Much interest having been expressed by the public 



LEGENDS. 



lOI 




102 BLOCK ISLAND. 

in the phenomenon since this announcement, and 
many speculations advanced, perhaps the following 
account by Dr. Aaron C. Willey, a well-known physi- 
cian, who was a resident of thcMsland for a number of 
years early in the present century, may be read with 

interest. 

Block Island, Dec. lo, iSii. 

Dear Sir: — In a former letter I promised to give you an 
account of the singular light which is sometimes seen from this 
place. I now hasten to fulfil my engagement. I should long 
since have communicated the fact to the literary world, but was 
unwilling to depend wholly upon the information of others, 
when by a little delay there was a probability of mv receiving 
ocular demonstration. I have not, however, been so fortunate in 
this respect as I could wish, having had only two opportunities 
of viewing the phenomenon. . . . This curious irradiation rises 
from the ocean near the northern point of the island. Its ap- 
pearance is nothing different from a blaze of fire ; whether it 
actually touches the water, or merely hovers over it, is uncer- 
tain, for I am informed that no person has been near enough 
to decide accurately. It beams with various magnitudes, and 
appears to bear no more analogy to the ignis fahins than it does 
to the aurora borealis. Sometimes it is small, resembhng the 
light through a distant window; at others, expanding to the 
height of a ship with all her canvas spread. When large, it 
displays either a pyramidical form, or three constant streams. 
In the latter case, the streams are somewhat blended together 
at the bottom, but separate and distinct at the top, while the 
middle one rises rather higher than the other two. It may have 
the same appearance when small, but owing to distance and 
surrounding vapors, cannot be clearly perceived. This light 
often seems to be in a constant state of mutation ; decreasing 
by degrees it becomes invisible, or resembles a lucid point, then 
shining anew, sometimes with a sudden flare, at others by a 
gradual increasement to its former size. Often the mutability 
regards the lustre only, becoming less and less bright until it 
disappears, or nothing but a pale outline can be discerned of 
its full size, then resuming its full splendor in the manner be- 
fore stated. The duration of its greatest and least state of illu- 



LEGENDS. 103 

mination is not commonly more than three minutes: this incon- 
stancy, however, does not appear in every instance. 

After the radiance seems to be totally extinct, it does not al- 
ways return in the same place, but is not infrequently seen 
shining at some considerable distance from where it disappeared. 
In this transfer of locality, it seems to have no certain line of 
direction. When most expanded, this blaze is generally waver- 
ing, like the flame of a torch. At one time it appears stationary, 
at another progressive. It is seen at all seasons of the year, 
and for the most part in the calm weather which precedes an 
easterly or southerly storm. It has, however, been noticed 
during a severe northwestern gale, and when no storm immedi- 
ately follows. Its continuance is sometimes transient, at others 
throughout the night, and it has been known to appear several 
nights in succession. 

This blaze actuallv emits luminous rays. A gentleman, 
w-hose house is situated near the sea. informs me that he has 
known it to illuminate considerably the walls of his room 
through the windows. This happens only when the light is 
within half a mile of the shore ; for it is often seen blazing at 
six or seven miles distance, and strangers suppose it to be a 
vessel on fire. 

This lucid meteor has long been known by the name of the 
Palatine light. By the ignorant and superstitious it is thought 
to be supernatural. Its appellation originated from that of a 
ship called the '' Palatine.'' which was designedly cast away 
at this place, in the beginning of the last century, in order to 
conceal, as tradition reports, the inhuman treatment and murder 
of some of its unfortunate passengers. 

From this time, it is said, the Palatine light appeared, and 
there are many who firmly believe it to be a ship on fire, to 
which their fantastic and distempered imaginations figure 
masts, ropes, and flowing sails. 

The cause of this roving brightness is a curious subject for 
philosophical investigation. .Some, perhaps, will suppose it 
will depend on a peculiar modification of electricity, others 
upon the inflammation of hydrogenous gas. But there are. 
possibly, manv other means, unknown to us. by which light 
may be evolved from those materials with which it is latently 
associated, by the power of mechanical aflinities. 

I have stated to vou facts, but feel a reluctance to hazard 



I04 BLOCK ISLAND. 

any speculations. These I leave to you and to other acute re- 
searchers of created things. Your opinion I would be much 
pleased with. 

I remain yours, etc., 

Aaron C. Willev. 
Hon. S. L. Mitchell. 

Although Dana in his most brilliant poem, " The 
Buccaneers," has given poetically accurate descrip- 
tions of the island localities, and introduced the fea- 
ture of a burning ship in a very effective manner, it is 
entirely the work of imagination, and no such charac- 
ter as Matthew Lee ever 

" Held in this isle unquestioned sway." 

There are many interesting Indian legends asso- 
ciated with the early history of Block Island ; however, 
but one will be presented, — that of Weencombone, a 
Montaug of great prowess, taken from the collection 
published by J. A. Ayres, of Hartford, Conn. 

" Whose step is like the prancing deer. 
When quick alarms sound in his ear, 
Or like the swift fox gliding by, 
Gone ere his form you can espy? 

Weencombone. 

"Whose heart is brave when dangers come, 
Or war affrights our tranquil home ; 
Who leads the fiery conflict on, 
When the war-scalp is lost or won ? 

Weencombone. 

" Whose strength is like the pines that grow 
Above Shagwannock's lofty brow .'' 
Whose eye is hke the lightning's gleam. 
Whose voice is like the eagle's scream ? 
Weencombone. 



LEGENDS. lO; 

" In pride of heart the warrior stood, 
In pride of strength, and pride of blood, 
Before old men in council met. 
The gathered wisdom of the state. 
With flashing eye he told his tale, 
Whose tidings woke the funeral wail, 
W^hen the red sun with glaring light 
Dispelled the shadows of tlie night. 

'" But yester e'en the sun went down 
Upon Manisses' walls of stone, 
When I, with three brave followers, came, 
To watch the evening's dying Hame. 
With patient care we spent the day, 
Beneath the crag whereon we lay. 
Watching an eagle's eyry there, 
Till the bold king returned from far. 
With gallant flight, I saw him come, 
Unfearing. to his rocky home; 
Upon the crag his wing he furled. 
Proud as the monarch of the world. 
Shook his strong quills, and with a scream 
That woke his brooding mate's wild dream. 
Looked down upon the rolling sea. 
Free as its rolling waves was he. 
This arrow pierced the regal bird. 
Ere the far cliffs his death-cry heard, 
Downward he fell from crag to rock, 
And struck the sand with thundering shock. 
His heart was rent in twain. 
Checked was the blood in every vein. 
And every nerve so strong, but now. 
Was palsied by the fatal blow. 
He could not move his head tliat lay 
Upon the sands of ocean gray, 
Or stir his wing, or with strong grasp 
iVIv fingers in his talons clasp ; 
Yet round and round his flashing eye 
Turned boldly on his enemy. 
With its full power of lofty hate, 
On me who fain would be his mate. 



I06 BLOCK ISLAND. 

" ' I plucked the war-plumes, one by one, 
That grew above his heart of stone, 
And to my scalp-lock bound them on, 
Then climbed the cliffs, and idly lay 
To watch the fading light of day. 

" ' Seek we our home. I said at last. 
The labors of the day are past. 
And gathering vapors in the west 
Tell of the coming sea's unrest. 
Scarce had I spoke the signal word. 
Or scarce my trusty followers heard. 
When the wild war-cry of the north 
Close at my side burst fiercely forth. 
P'rom bush and rock came swiftly on. 
Led by Janemo's haughty son, 
Five foemen from the mainland sent 
Upon our path with foul intent. 
Their war-locks on the evening streamed, 
Their battle-axes brightly gleamed. 
Flashing while round their heads they swung, 
And loud the stirring war-whoops rung. 
My knife the leader's scalp-lock found. 
Beside my belt the prize I bound ; 
Then turned again to seek the foe, 
Turned but to see the fatal blow 
That sent Merodi nock's brave ghost 
To the fair forests of the blest. 
I brained the murderer at a stroke 
While fierce revenge within me woke, 
And sprang my followers aid to yield ; 
To late, alas ! their lives to shield. 
Like true men fought the foe and died, 
My warriors falling by their side. 
And when the last death-shriek arose, 
I was alone of friends or foes.' 

" Old men with reverence heard his word. 
His haughty speech their bosom stirred. 
And with respect, showed not in vain, 
None answered to his tale again. 
Forth from the council lodge he passed, 
And sought his quiet home at last." 



,MlSCELLA.NEOUS. 



Owing to the brief time available for the i^epara- 
tion of this sketeh of the island and its attractions, 
the original plan has been somewhat modified, and 
many little details incorporated in the first manuscript 
have been necessarily omitted from this. 

Among the more important subjects which the 
writer had purposed to consider are the climatic and 
other conditions existing at Block Island, with ref- 
erence more particularly to its claims as a health 
resort. 

The fact has been thoroughly established that pure 
sea air is the most fraught with tonic c[ualities of any. 
It therefore seems but just to assume, other things 
being equal, that sea islands possess natural advan- 
tages over the continents, and that the smaller the 
island, and the more isolated its position, the nearer 
the approach to the conditions found on the deck of 
a ship, which is undoubtedly the best i)lace to obtain 
it. Unfortunately the latter means is in many cases 
impracticable, and often imj-)ossible, owing to the 
proneness to seasickness. 

A little sea island, therefore, seems the only avail- 
able means, in a large number of cases, for the unfor- 



I08 BLOCK ISLAND. 

tunate invalid to reap the benefits of tliis curative 
sea air. 

No island along our coast is so favorably situated 
as Block Island in this respect, for in addition to the 
invigorating qualities of its atmosphere, which never 
partakes of the mixed character of that at the coast 
resorts, it possesses the most distinct maritime cli- 
mate of any point on the eastern border of our conti- 
nent (see article on " Climate " in Appleton's Ency- 
clopaedia), and it is well established that the extremes 
of temperature are much less violent than in the same 
latitudes on the mainland, owing to the controlling 
influences of the surrounding water surfaces. 

In an excellent article in the Nczv York Medical 
Record, by Holbrook Curtis, M. D., he says of this 
place: — "The evenings are invariably cool, and one 
readily gets the impression, walking on the broad pi- 
azza of the great hotel, that he is on the deck of an 
ocean steamer, breathing the purest air, untainted by 
the dust, pollen, and organic elements which always 
appear as constituents of the atmosphere on the main- 
land. During a two months' stay at the island last 
summer, I had an opportunity of studying the effect 
of the air on several cases of malarial fever, which had 
been sent there, and also of observing the very great 
advantages several phthisical patients derived in being 
relieved of night sweats. The air is wonderful in its 
exhilarating properties, and the temptation is strong 
to laud what seemed to be marvellous results in cases 
of nervous prostration and insomnia, which had de- 
rived no benefit elsewhere." 



MISCELLANEOUS. IO9 

The sojourner here finds, in addition, an abundance 
to occupv his attention and keep his mind from 
fatigue. The social advantages are (»f the best, and 
amusements are not wanting outside the hotels. 

The island is particularly fortunate in possessing 
one of the finest beaches on the coast, giving superior 
bathing facilities, and affording a splendid drive. As 
the mean rise and fall of the tide here is but three and 
fifty-nine hundredths feet, a narrower stri]) is exposed 
at low tide than at the coast resorts, but as a compen- 
sation no unsightly flats are exposed. The carriage 
drives about the island are numerous, the roads fairly 
good, and running in an erratic, zigzag manner over 
the entire island. 

Near the Landing is a commodious Roller Skating 
Rink, and several bowling alleys and billiard rooms. 

The facilities for boating are very good, and in ad- 
dition to the numerous cat-rigged boats and schoon- 
ers, a small steam yacht is available for pleasui'e tiips. 

Close by the Landing is a restaurant liaxing a 
capacity for several hundred people, where "shore 
dinners " have been served to the satisfaction of 
thousands, who visit the island for a few hours, and 
do not care to dine at the hotels. 

The visitor, among other points of interest, must 
not omit a visit to the cemetery, which is reached by 
way of the Centre, passing north about half a mile. 
Here will be found many quaint inscriptions. The 
oldest inscribed stone the writer has seen is of thick 
sandstone, without ornamentation, placed upright, and 



no 



BLOCK ISLAND. 




MISCELLAXEOUS. I I i 

bearing date April 5, 1687. " Most of the older stones 
are of slate, ornamented with the conventional winged 
skull and scroll borders, precisely like those in the 
seaboard towns of the mainland," hence it is supposed 
they, in common with the others, were imported from 
England already ornamented, and lettered in this 
country. 

The peat supply will also interest many, although 
comparatively small quantities are now prepared for 
fuel, coal being generally used. 

An important resource of the island is the sea-weed 
gathered on the shores, many thousand cartloads of 
which are annually utilized for fertilizing purposes. 

Large quantities of the carrageen, or Irish moss, is 
annually gathered on the west side, and is the source 
of a considerable income to the islanders. 

No wild animals are found on the island, neither 
are snakes, but immense numbers of wild fowl, such 
as geese, ducks, and others, make this a stopping- 
place while migrating. 



©UTLijME OF History. 



The Indian name of Block Island was Manisses, 
or "Island of the Little God," and it was subject to 
the Narragansetts. 

From its prominent situation out in the Atlantic 
Ocean, twenty-five miles from Newport and a dozen 
miles from Point Judith on the Rhode Island coast, it 
was undoubtedly seen by the earliest European navi- 
gators who explored the shores of the New World. 

It may not be inappropriate to suggest that those 
hardy vikings of old, whom Professor Rafn not many 
years since announced had cruised along our coast, 
traded with the Indians, and one party remained nearly 
three years in the vicinity of Narragansett Bay, sev- 
eral hundred years before Columbus was born, may, 
not unlikely, have been the first civilized men to ob- 
serve this isolated little speck of land. 

American historians seem to have taken very little 
notice of Professor Rafn's statements, some treating 
them with scorn, others attributing them to Northman 
pride, and all undoubtedly profoundly ignorant of the 
Scandinavian language and unwilling to be told any- 
thing about their own country from such a source. 



OUTJ.INE OF J/ISTOKY. 



113 



Had they, however, given the simple narrative pre- 
sented a careful examination and been capable of as 
wise discrimination as lias been manifested by the 
writer of an article first published in the Proviihnce 
yoiinuil in 1869, and since widely known, a very dif- 
ferent conclusion would l>ave been reached as to the 
credibility of these statements of the celebrated 
Danish archa'ologist, which have since been con- 
firmed in many imjiortant points by recent anlicjuarian 
researches. 

The earliest account of the island we find is in a 
letter, the authenticity of which has been doubted, 
professing to have been written in 1524, by Giovanni 
da Verazzano, a Florentine, who was dispatched in 
that year by l-'rancis I., of France, in command of the 
frigate " Dauphin," on a voyage of discovery. 

This letter mentioned it " in form of a triangle, dis- 
tant from the main land three leagues, about the 
bignesse of the island of Rhodes ; it was full of hills 
covered with trees and well peopled, for we saw tires 
all along the coast. We gave it the name of CUuulia 
of your majesties mother." 

One writer thinks the island must have been seen 
by Fstewan Gomez, in 1526; but as it is uncertain 
whether he was ever in its vicinity, and is positiwly 
known to have died the year previous, this suggestion 
seems worthy of very little consideration. 

Nothing authentic appears for nearly a lentury 
after the Italian navigator passed its shores, when in 
1614. a Dutch trader, Ailrian Blok, who had been de- 



114 BLOCK ISLAND. 

tained at Manhattan Island by the burning of his 
vessel, built a rude yacht, undoubtedly the first 
decked vessel made on these shores, and " sailed east- 
ward through the Sound, and discovered several is- 
lands, the last of which he called after his own name." 

He is the first European known to have explored 
the island, and mentions finding upon it a numerous 
tribe of Indians, who received himself and crew very 
kindly and " regaled them on hominy, succotash, 
clams, fish, and game," 

Soon after this it was put down on the Dutch maps 
as " Adrian's Eyland," by which name it was generally 
designated for many years after, and must have been 
familiar to the Dutch, who were carrying on a pros- 
perous trade with the Indians in its vicinity. 

A few years after Adrian Blok's visit, an incident 
occurred at Plymouth which resulted indirectly in 
materially affecting the destiny of this little sea-girt 
isle. John Oldham, a contentious, turbulent man, 
having been banished from the colony, after a short 
time returned and tried to breed a revolt, defying the 
authorities, who soon had him placed where his 
wrath had time to cool. He was then compelled to 
pass through a double file of musketeers, every one 
of whom " was ordered to give him a thump on ye 
brich with ye butt end of his musket." After this 
ceremony they ordered him to leave the colony, and 
we find him soon after engaged in trading with the 
Indians, making expeditions from Boston overland 
as far as the Pequot River, known at present as the 



OUTLINE OF HISTORY. I i 5 

Thames River, in Connecticut. In 1636, he titted 
out a small sailing vessel, and proceeded from Boston 
along the coast to the Pequot country. Returning 
soon after, he called at Block Island for the ijurj^ose 
of trading with the Manisses. According to a writer 
in the Historical Collections of Massachusetts : — "A 
certain seaman named John Gallop, master of the 
small navigation standing along to the Mathethusis 
Bay, and seeing a boat under sail close aboard the 
island, and perceiving the sails to be unskilfully 
managed, bred in him a jealousy whether that island 
Indians had not bloodily taken the life of our own 
countrymen, and made themselves master of their 
goods. Suspecting this, he bore up to them, and 
approaching near them, was confirmed his jealousy 
was just. Seeing Indians in the boat, and knowing 
her to be the vessel of Master Oldham, and not see- 
ing him there, gave fire upon them and slew some ; 
others leaped overboard, besides two of the number 
which he preserved alive and brought to the Bay." 
Oldham's body, not yet cold, was found on board, 
horribly mangled. 

It was supposed at the time that his murderers 
were the inhabitants of Block Island, but it has since 
been stoutly asserted that it was previously planned 
by a number of sachems, who had preceded him fr<tm 
the mainland for the purpose of avenging some great 
wrong he had committed. As no cause has been 
assigned for the Manisses committing the deed, and 
as Oldham was in high favor with the Xarragansetts, 



1 1 6 BLOCK ISL AND. 

to whom they were tributary, this solution is not 
improbable. 

Massachusetts was greatly incensed at Oldham's 
murder, as he had become quite wealthy, and prom- 
inent as a politician, and was an energetic man, well 
suited to advance the interests of the early settlers, 
who, we are told, preached " peace and good-will " to 
men, and acquired the reputation of being a motley 
group of rapacious adventurers. 

The quaint old chronicler says : — " God stirred up 
the hearts of the honored governor. Master Harry- 
Vane, and the rest of the worthy magistrates, to send 
forth one hundred well appointed soldiers under tHe 
conduct of Captain John Endicott." Three other 
captains, besides other inferior officers, accompanied 
the expedition, which was commissioned " to put the 
men of Block Island to the sword, but to spare the 
women and children." 

When they arrived, the Indians made very little 
resistance, soon fleeing to the woods, where they suc- 
cessfully concealed themselves. The English found 
two plantations, some sixty wigwams, and about two 
hundred acres of corn, partially harvested. They 
destroyed all, stove the canoes, and re-embarked. 

From this time Massachusetts claimed the island, 
and the Narragansetts acknowledged conquest by 
paying tribute to the governor ; and a letter of Roger 
Williams indicates that in Rhode Island they were 
considered " wholly said governor's subjects." 

Very little is known concerning it from that time 



UTL INF. OF HIS TORY. WJ 

until 1658, when the General Court of Massachusetts 
granted to Governor luidicott, Richard Bellingham, 
Daniel Dennison, and William Hawthorne all its 
interest in and to Block Island. 

Two years later, three of these sold their interest 
therein to John Alcock, a physician of Roxbury, 
Massachusetts, who paid three hundred pounds for 
the three fourths, and immediately started a scheme 
for its settlement. Having found nine men who 
agreed to purchase proportionately, they had a con- 
sultation together at the house of Dr. Alcock, Aug- 
ust 7. 1660, and having determined the plan of pro- 
cedure, set about building a bark, which was 
completed early the following year, and sailed from 
Braintree, Mass., in April, 1661, with their cattle 
and household effects. The passengers embarked in 
a shallop at Taunton, being about thirty in number, 
several other families having joined the company 
during the winter. 

The following September the proprietors met at 
the house of Feli.x Wharton, in Boston, and ajipoint- 
ed a Mr. Xoyes, of Sudbury, Mass., as surveyor, to 
go with Mr. Fa.\on to Block Island, and by lot 
divide unto every man his due proportion, — a record 
of which division still appears in the old town 
records, together with the original compact, and 
names of first settlers, among which the name of 
Rose is the only one represented among the present 
population. 

Its si.xteen proprietors had equal shares in the soil, 



Il8 HLOCK JSl.AXD. 

which, as Massachusetts had relinquished her claim 
upon the island, became private property, and was 
entered upon as a proprietary, members of which 
afterwards bouf(ht from the Indians any rii^hts they 
might have in it ; and though still under the Massa- 
chusetts jurisdiction, from its isolation, it was essen- 
tially a miniature democracy. 

In the new charter from Charles II., granted in 
1663 to Rhode Island Colony, Block Island was 
included in the territory named, and its inhabitants 
petitioned the ensuing year to the General Assembly, 
for civil protection. In May, 1664, the Assembly 
appointed James Sands and Thomas Terry, and 
empowered them to call a meeting of the islanders, 
who were to call a third man as their assistant in 
the local government of the island. 

In 1672 they petitioned for their incorporation as 
a town, which was granted November 3, that year, at 
which time the name of New Shoreham was adopted 
"as signs of our unity and likeness to many parts of 
our native country." 

Ws popular consent, this name is now seldom used 
except in official documents, conveyances, etc.. and 
in fact the post-office bears only the name Block 
Islantl. 

In speaking of the early history of this place, Ar- 
nold, in his "History of Block Island," says; — "A 
local history of Bloc'k Island would present an interest- 
ing study. The traditionary history of the aborigines 
is full of the romance of war, their authentic history in 



OUTLINE OF HISTORY. I 19 



connection with the whites abounds in stirring inci- 
dents. The peculiarities of the English settlers and 
their posterity, their customs, their laws, and domes- 
tic institutions, are among the most singular and 
interesting developments of civilized life, while the 
martial deeds of a people within and around whose 
island there has been more hard fighting than on any 
territory of equal extent perhaps in America, and 
where the horrors of savage and civilized warfare 
have alternately prevailed almost without cessation 
from the earliest traditionary period down to recent 
date, would altogether furnish materials for a thrilling- 
history that might rival the pages of romance." 

Soon after the settlement of the island, the Indians 
were placed in bondage, and some negro slaves were 
owned by the landlords, who, being few in number, 
had comparatively large estates, and lived in a some- 
what pretentious manner. 

In the colonial days the island was infested with 
pirates from abroad, and many believe much treas- 
ure to have been buried here. 

In 1689, after war had been declared between 
France and England, Block Island suffered more than 
her share of trouble, being invaded and plundered 
several times during that year, and 1690, as it was 
also during the subsequent wars in 1744 and 1754. 

This island was in turn ravaged by the British, 
during the Revolutionary War. 

In the war of 1812, it remained neutral. From 
this time forward, until the establishment of the 
National Harbor, there is little to record. , 



120 BLOCK ISLAND. 

One writer says : — •" Its normal state for two hun- 
dred years was that of complete isolation. Its inhab- 
itants had little intercourse with the mainland. They 
tilled their farms, followed the cod to the fishing- 
banks, intermarried, buried their dead, sustained 
their own churches and schools, and formed a sturdy, 
self-sustaining little republic, independent of their 
neighbors, and careless of the great world without." 



Routes to Block Isla.nd. 



FROM BOSTON. 



Train leaves Providence depot at 6.35 a. m., con- 
necting at Providence with the steamers of the Con- 
tinental Line, which connect at Newport with Block 
Island steamer, " Geo. W. Danielson." Arrive at 
Island 3.00 I'. M. 

Train leaves Old Colony depot at 8.30 a. m., con- 
necting at Newport with Block Island steamer, " Geo. 
W. Danielson." 

FROM HARTFORD, MANCHESTER, AND ROCKVII.LE, 
CONN. 

Take morning train on N. Y. & N. E. R. R. about 
7.00 A. M. (see time tables), connecting at New Lon- 
don with steamer " Block Island " each week day. 

FROM PROVIDENCE. 

Commencing July 8, steamer "Canonicus" leaves 
Providence at 9.15 a. m., touching at Newport at 
10.45 A- ^'■' o'^ Tuesdays and Saturdays. 

Steamers of Continental Line leave Providence 
DAILY at 9. 1 5 A. M., connecting with steamer " Geo. 
W. Danielson" at Newport, for Block Island. 



122 BLOCK ISLAND. 

FROM NEWPORT. 

The Steamer "Geo. W. Danielson " will leave 
Newport for Block Island at 12.30 p. m., daily (Sun- 
days excepted), connecting with boat from Provi- 
dence. 

FROM NEW YORK. — NEWPORT LINE. 

Commencing on or about June 23, the steamers 
"Old Colony" and "Newport" will leave Pier 28, 
N. R., foot of Murray Street, at 6 p. m., daily (Sun- 
days excepted) for Newport, connecting with the 
" Geo. W. Danielson" for Block Island; returning, 
leave Newport at 9 p. m. Sundays, take Fall River 
Line for Newport. Tickets sold and baggage 
checked through. 

NORWICH LINE. 

The steamer " City of Worcester," leaves Pier 40, 
N. R., foot of Watts Street, next pier to Desbrosses 
Street, Penn. R. R. Ferry, New York, at 5 p. m. 
Tuesdays and Thursdays. Steamer " City of Bos- 
ton," Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Each 
boat, on alternate days, from New London, connect- 
ing each way with steamer "Block Island " for Block 
Island. 

from NORWICH, NEW LONDON, AND WATCH HILL. 

The new and elegant steamer " Block Island " 
leaves Norwich at 8 a. m. daily on and after July i 
(Sundays excepted) ; New London at 9.30; touches 
at Watch Hill ; arrives at Island at 12.30 p. m. 



IN DEX 



Adrian's Eyland ii^ 



Adrian House 



55 



Advantages of climate 107 

Amusements jofj 

Animals 1 1 1 

Aqueduct, proposed 32 

Bali, Hon. Nicholas 43 

baptist Church . . 3- 

Bar, Sandy Point 26 

Bass, black 3-- Qi 

Bass, striped 91 

Bass Pond 32 

Bathing Beach ... 121. 09 

Beacon Hill ^A 

Bellevue House 53 

Black Rock 14 

Black Sand 10 

Block or 151ok, Adrian ..... 113 

Block Islanders . . 92 

Block Island boats Si 

Block Island House . 54 

Block Island Sound 31 

Bluefish 88 

Bluffs i4-'9 

Boats, fishing .... 81 

Boats, pleasure 109 

Boulders, structure <if . . . . S 

Breach, the ... 31 

Cable 59 

Cemetery . • 109 

Central Hotel .... . . 54 

Centre, the . . . 34 

Chagum Pond . . . . 31 

Charter of town . . \iC> 

Clav Head 27 



ii INDEX. 

Page 

Cliffs 15-27 

Climate 107 

Codfish 83 

Connecticut House 50 

Conquest of Block Island 116 

Coonimus 23 

Corn Neck 25 

Creek, the 31 

Crescent Beach 12 

Death, first on the island 33 

Dialect of islanders 94 

Dickens' Point 23 

Discovery 112 

Divisions 12 

Dorrie's Cove 23 

Drug Store 60 

Ducks, wild Ill 

Dunes 26 

East Side 12 

Expedition against Indians 116 

Farmhouses 34> 5^ 

First Church 57 

First Public House 42 

P^irst Settlers 117 

Fisheries 80 

Fish-houses 41 

Fishing 81-92 

Filtration of water 29 

Fleet, Block Island 81 

Fog signal 65 

Form of island 8 

Fort Island 32 

Fresh Pond 32 

Fresh water 27 

Fuel ID, III 

Gale of September, 1815 14 

Geese, wild iii 

Geological structure 8, 10 

Good Templars 59 

Government of island, early 118 

Government Buildings 62 

Government Breakwater 41 



/AD EX. iii 

I'..;;e 

Grace's Point 23 

(Irant of island to four men nj 

Great Pond 29, 31, 91 

Growth of population 95 

Hall, Music 49 

Hall, Odd Fellows' 59 

Hall, Town 57 

Harbor 36 

Harbor Neck 29 

Harbor I^ond 31 

Highland House 52 

High School 57 

Hill, Heacon 34 

History 112 

Hostilities i [9 

Hotels, early 42 

Hotels, present 43-56 

Hummock, the 26 

Incorporation iiS 

Indians, conquest of 116 

Indians placed in bondage 119 

Indian Head Neck 29 

Inhabitants 92 

Inlets, former 31 

Insomnia cured loS 

Invasion by I'rench 119 

Irish moss ill 

Iron, magnetic 10 

Island, Fort 32 

Legends 96 

Life Saving Stations 25, 67 

Lighthouses 6:;, 63 

Lobster tishing . 88 

Location S 

Mackerel tishing 88 

Mails -59 

Malaria . . in8 

Manisses, Isle of . . 112 

Manisses, Hotel .48 

Marden, Dr. O. S 47 

Masons, Atlantic Lodge of 59 

Meeting-house, First 5S 



iv INDEX. 

Page 

Middle Pond 31 

Mill Pond 33 

Military telegraph 59 

Mineral Springs 22 

Mohegan Bluffs 15 

Montauk Point 8 

Mortar cart 68 

Music Hall 45 

Narragansett House 54 

Neck, the 12 

Neptune Hotel 52 

New Shoreham, adoption of name 118 

North Lighthouse 62 

Norwich House 33 

Ocean View Hotel . • 43-48 

Ocean View Cottage 44 

Occupations 94 

Oldham, John' 114, 115 

Old Harbor Point 20 

Old Mill, the 33 

Old Pier, the 32 

Outline of history 112 

Outline of island 34 

Palatine, legend of the 97-103 

Patrolmen 69 

Paving stones 14 

Peat ID, III 

Pebbly Beach 20 

Pequot House 54 

Perch fishing 32 

Phantom ship : .... 96 

Photographs 60 

Pier, the old 32 

Pirates 119 

Pole Harbor 39 

Ponds 27-33 

Population 95 

Position 8 

Post-office 59 

Pound fishing 90 

Proprietors 117-1 19 

Public buildings 57 



INDEX. V 

P.ige 

Religious sentiment 58 

Residence, T. E. Tripler's 25 

Restaurant 109 

Roads 25, 109 

Rose Cottage 5^1 

Routes to Block Island 121 

Sand Hills 12, 26 

Sand's Pond . 32 

Sandy Point 25 

Sachem's Pond 32 

Schools 57-58 

Sea Food 56 

Sea Side House 55 

Seaweed in 

Settlement 117 

Shipwrecks 74 

Shifting sands 26 

Shores 12, 20, 23, 26 

Signal Service, L'. S 59 

Siren, the 65 

Skating Rink tog 

Slaves 119 

Soil S, 10 

South Light 63 

Springs, the 22 

Spring House 47 

Stores 60 

Streams 27 

Striped ba.ss 91 

Superstitions 95 

Surf Cottage 55 

Surfmen 67 

Sword fi.shing S4-S7 

Tautog SS 

Telegraph otifice -59 

Tide 109 

Tidal wave '4 

Timber to 

Town Hall 3" 

Treasure, hidden 119 

Trees 10, 50 

Trimm's Pond .'" 



vi INDEX. 

Page 

Union House 53 

U. S. Hotel 49 

U. S. Life Saving Service 66 

U. S. Signal Service 59 

Water, supply of fresh -7> -9 

Wars .119 

Weencombone, legend of 104 

West Side 12 

Wood '..... 10 

Woonsocket House 52 

Wreckers 75 

Wrecking 74-79 



\/' 



olZ^^^ 



MISS c. E. BROWN. BLOCK ISLAND, R. I 



'^ir HOUSE particularly suited to lamilics desiring a gen- 
IjJL. teel, quiet, and not extravagant Summer Home. 

The Manisses is near the Steamboat Landing. Ocean View 
Hotel. Post-Office, Cable Office, Skating Rink, etc. 

Fifty new Sleeping-Rooms, all arranged in suites. Electric 
Bells. New Office. Elegant Drawing-Room (occupies whole 
width of building). New Reading-Room. Water Closets upon 
four floors. Drainage unsurpassed, etc., etc. 

Grounds graded, shade-trees planted, and beautiful orna- 
mental gardens laid out. 

Fine croquet and tennis grounds. Splendid play-grounds 
for children. 

Beautiful poplar trees and pure spring water. 

New ash furniture, new hair mattresses and woven wire 
springs. 

Finest Dinino-Hall on Block Islind. 

It looks out upon the grounds from three sides of the 
room. Table first-class, service excellent. 

A Livery, newly fitted up. will be run in (onnection with 
the Manisses. 

The Manisses will open June 14, 18S4. 

Rates for season, 512.00 per week and upward; transient 
board. 53.00 and 53.50 per day, according to season. 

All communications should be addressed to Miss C E. 
Brown, Hotel Manisses, Block Island, R. I. 

Rooms may be engaged at 43 Bowdoin Street. Boston, or 
at the office of C. W. Boi,lks, 52 Broadway, New York City. 

Refer t(» Holurocik CiRris. M. I).. 29 W. 30th Street 
New York. 

Send for illustrated circular and jilans. 



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